Nefarious Adventure
by Evil Orange Crayon
Summary: A mysterious prince comes to Enchancia with the pretense of creating a new alliance. As the only available princess in the castle, Sofia is worried and with good cause. There is something otherworldly about this prince that she can't put her finger on. Surely, her parents will do the right thing and not promise her to a man she's never met. Right?
1. Chapter 1

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

So, yea... I was playing my video game earlier farming gold and whatnot and I saw this character and I thought "Wow, that guy is pretty smexy, I wonder what kind of evils I could commit with him," and this is what came out. This is TOTALLY not at all finished and I usually wouldn't post something that I didn't have more chapters to offer up to you, but I'm kind of curious about the reception it will receive. It's rated for the evil that I intend to do in later chapters.

* * *

At the southern edge of Enchancia was a ridge of dark and foreboding mountains. They surrounded the vast majority of the southern edge of the kingdom. For a long time the general impression was that it was a waste land beyond the mountain range. King Roland the second and the kings before him hadn't sought to take ground there for reasons that the rest of the kingdom were unaware. So, history lessons only spoke of nothing beyond a desert of dark colored sands.

It was not long after her eighteenth birthday that they found out there was another kingdom beyond the Black Mountains. A prince came with a contingent of knights and goods in hopes to open up a trade route with Enchancia and then soon the rest of the kingdoms of the world. The prince in question was a handsome man, he had olive colored skin and dark hair that framed his face, which had a neat trimmed beard to it. He also had the most peculiar colored eyes, they were crimson and when she peered at him through the corner of her eye she sore that they glowed.

He was charming as well as handsome, he didn't really have an accent like her sorcerer did. He wore a suit of armor that seemed to glow with magic, similar to his eyes and he had a crown that looked as if it burned like fire. He was tall and though his armor didn't give a lot of room to tell his physique, it appeared to hug him tightly giving the idea that he was well built. Amber nearly swooned.

"It's a pity that I've already given my hand to Zandar, Victor is so pretty to look at," she hummed lightly and sat beside her at the table as the both admired the prince. "I wonder if Daddy will try to offer him your hand as a means to secure a treaty with him."

She grimaced, "I hope not. I really would prefer to pick my own husband."

"Sofia," she sighed, "I understand the feeling, really I do. But as a princess we have duties that we owe our kingdom."

"Aunt Tilly got to pick who she married, why can't I?"

"Oh," she fussed for a moment with her skirt, "Don't look at it like that. Really, look at the man. He's delicious. Those eyes, that deep voice. What's not to like?"

She shook her head at her sister, "You're lucky. You grew up with Zandar. We don't even know this man. I hope that dad knows better than to strike some sort of deal with someone we don't even know. What is the name of his kingdom? We know absolutely nothing about him or his people." Her stomach knotted up as she considered the options that her sister seemed too keen for her to accept.

"I suppose it is best to learn about your potential allies first," she fluttered her fan in front of her face as she watched the foreign man unabashed. "You have a better head for politics than I thought, Sofia. Though you're not against the idea of being betrothed to him because you have interests in someone else, are you?"

She leveled a look at her sister, her chest tight at the idea that her sister knew more than she let on. "I've been far too busy to worry about boys. I've started taking extra lessons with Mister Cedric since we graduated from Royal Prep. With dad having us sit in on petitions and other things, I really haven't had the opportunity to meet anyone. Which, is fine really. You and James should be married first and start sewing your roots to lead."

The other girl's eyes narrowed and she thought for a moment she saw through her lie, but when she didn't question it she thought herself safe. "Let us try to learn more about Prince Victor. Maybe we can find out what's beyond the Black Mountains."

The prince in question was seated close to their father, opposite the queen and seemed to be regaling them with tales of what his land was like. James sat on Amber's other side, seemingly unconcerned by their visitor as he was too preoccupied with the roasted boar that was the main dish of their meal. She strained to hear the conversation of the foreign prince, learning that while yes, there was a lot of dessert between their kingdoms there was also a vast mountain range that the prince had built his kingdom within.

They simple called it Blackrock Mountain, because that was indeed what the castle was made from. He referred to his kingdom as Nigrum and assured them that it was rich in magic and culture that they had never seen despite being based mostly in the mountains. He spoke of dragons and dwarves, and while she had seen dragons before she hadn't come across a dwarf in her adventures so she found herself curious. At one point during a tale about a vicious sandstorm that nearly wiped out one of the outstanding villages of his kingdom their eyes met, her breath caught. There was something about them that she couldn't define, it set her on edge.

After the meal was complete and the king and prince went to his study for an evening brandy, she found her way to the tower of her sorcerer. There was something about the visiting prince that she couldn't wrap her mind around. She couldn't place it. Even though it was late, she knew he would still be up so she tapped lightly at his door.

He threw the door open with a bit of a huff before he gave pause when he saw her, "Princess it's late. You are beyond my working hours and you know this."

"I-I need someone to talk to, Mister Cedric. We have a visitor and-"

"A visitor?" He looked curious now and stepped aside to allow her in. "No one told me about a visitor. I'm hoping this means that I don't have to play entertainment then since no one bothered to let me know about them."

"They came out of nowhere this morning, we didn't expect them at all. I'm surprised you didn't see their parade come in the front gate," she sat on her stool and looked up at him. "His name is Victor Nefarius and he says his kingdom's name is Nigrum."

"Nefarius? Are you kidding?" He snorted, "You can't be serious. Don't tell me your father is giving this man the time of day."

She nodded, wincing because with the sound of his name she came to the same conclusion. It was suspicious, "He seems nice enough and I think he's won dad over. They brought a lot of ore with them in hopes to open up a trade route with Enchancia and then the rest of the Tri-kingdom area. The ore I saw wasn't like any other stone I've seen. It shone like magic, but it was black. He seemed to have a lot of magic around him."

"Curious," he rubbed his chin lightly. "Did you see him carrying a wand?" She shook her head and he looked intrigued, "That is interesting." He stood up and went to one of his shelves, "I've not heard of the kingdom before. But, it's not got a very inventive name. Nigrum, Latin. Means black." He plucked a book from the shelf and returned to her side, placing it on the table. He started leafing through the book, "You look worried, is there a particular reason why?"

"Amber thought dad might offer him my hand as a way to settle a treaty," she swallowed hard. "I know it's part of being a princess, but I'm hoping she's wrong."

He put the book on the table and looked at her, looking equally concerned, "What makes her say something like that? The man hasn't even been here a day. I've not met him or seen him either." He grimaced as if he were just as disturbed by the idea of her being married off to a stranger as she was, "Your father isn't so cruel that he would do that to you, Princess. Not only that I am sure your mother would protest."

She nodded, hoping he was right, "I'm hoping that's not what he's interested in either. He looks to be a great deal older than me. The idea doesn't bother me too much," she added, hoping without hope that he wouldn't take it as an insult. She still dreamed that he would suddenly become aware of her mooning over him and return her affections. "I would just prefer to have a choice."

"How he is still a prince if he is old?" He looked curious, their discussion of the man seemed to do nothing but shine him in a bad light. "And how do you not know that he does not already have a wife?"

"He mentioned a king of his land, his father, but I don't remember his name. I was sitting next to Amber," she sighed lightly in defeat. "She seemed more keen to talk about how handsome he was then let me listen to what he was saying."

"Oh," he sounded somewhat despaired, "He's handsome, is he?"

She smiled her best smile and reached over to touch his shoulder, "Amber has exotic tastes, remember? She's betrothed to Zandar from Tangu." It was promising that he would be disappointed by her finding another man attractive. "He didn't mention a wife that I could hear. Him and father went into his study for an after dinner drink. I am hoping it is only to discuss opening trade. When Amber mentioned that my hand might be offered up in a treaty, I got scared. That's why I came in here to talk to you."

He smiled at her in return and rested a hand atop hers, "Well, then, that is a way to make me feel appreciated. While I admit, there is just cause for you to worry. I find that you may be worrying a bit too soon. It's a bit presumptuous to come to a neighboring kingdom and demand the hand of it's sole single princess. While your father may entertain the idea, I'm sure he will give you an option to decline. He's never been cruel to you."

"You're right," she nodded and stood. "I'm sorry to have bothered you, Mister Cedric. But, thank you for putting my fears at ease."

"Yes, well," he stood as well, his hand coming to the small of her back as he started to guide her to the door. "I suppose I don't mind you too much. Though, do try to keep to reasonable hours princess. I do need my beauty rest."


	2. Chapter 2

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy."

Sorry this chapter is so long and took so long to add, I wanted to put a lot into it instead of splitting it up into multiple chapters. There is not no real warnings to the story thus far, but it is rated M for later chapters. I intend this to be a bit gruesome later. You don't put a bad dragon into a story and not expect him to wreck stuff.

* * *

Victor and his entourage stayed at the castle for well over a week. While she had only the opportunity to speak with him once, she was still afraid of the seed that Amber had planted in her head. Victor was an imposing man, even as just a prince he still managed to walk with the air of a king. He was a man with power and it was hard to not see it. Even when he had shed his armor, something he did at some point during the night of his first visit, he still managed to strike some bit of fear into her.

Without his armor he was no less impressive visually. The armor didn't hide his physique at all. After the first time Amber saw him without it she practically squealed at her. She was embarrassed when he appeared to have heard, but didn't look at all displeased by her sister's reaction. If anything it made him look pleased, since then he was sure to offer both girls a flirtatious grin. It only added fuel to her fear.

She was in the garden after lunch, hoping the fresh air would calm her nerves. She had been traipsing through the maze when she suddenly felt that she was no longer alone. She stopped at the bend of one corner and looked, trying to find where the unease was coming from. She looked back the way she had come and saw no one following her, then turned back to the bend of the hedge to see what might be ahead.

Victor stepped around the corner and nearly into her, looking decidedly lost. She gasped and steadied herself against the hedge, staring at him with a knot in her stomach. "Princess," he offered her a deep bow. "Sofia, was it?"

She swallowed hard and curtseyed in return to his bow, she had to remember her manners. "Yes, Prince Victor. What are you doing out here?"

He took a moment to look embarrassed, looking back the way he had come then behind her. "I saw your maze and I quite enjoy puzzles and things like it. I thought I could handle it, looking at it from above on the balcony. But," he chuckled and it seemed to reverberate through her. "I appear to have gotten lost." He offered her his arm, he was wearing a black coat with gold brocade embroidered into the sleeve, the fabric looked rich and expensive. "I don't suppose you would be willing to assist me in finding my way, would you?"

She had come out here in hopes to flee the feel of him in her home and somehow he managed to find her out here. She winced and she took his arm, placing her hand against his forearm. "I don't mind," she lied. "I've gotten lost in the maze quite a few times. Usually, I come out here as a means to clear my head." His arm felt like steel beneath the soft fabric and she imagined him as a wall of muscle. She turned them to go the way she had come, "This way."

"Well," he stood straight beside her, only turning his head to glance down at her to speak. "I am sorry to take away from your moment alone. I wouldn't bother you if I could find my own way." He followed her lead as she worked her way back towards the entrance of the maze. "You seem to be put off by me, princess," he said boldly and she stopped to look up at him. "Please, I am not here to upset your kingdom. My father just recently decided to end our isolation and I thought it would be an opportune time to reach out to our closest neighbors and strike out an alliance."

"I... I'm sorry that I have come off like that," she wasn't really sure what to say. "It wasn't my intent to be unwelcoming."

"Oh, but you and your family have been nothing, but welcoming," he smiled and she was struck by the fact that he was, indeed handsome. "I just get the feeling that you are afraid, but of what I am unsure."

She swallowed hard unable to think of a ploy to placate him. She started walking again at a quicker pace, he kept up with her easily with his longer legs. She looked away from him and fought for an answer to just why he frighten her. He chuckled and she felt it, he halted their trek back to the start of the maze causing her to stop to, for she still was on his arm. "What are you afraid of, Princess?"

"I don't mean to be offensive," she started wearily. "But, you are from a far off land, a land that we didn't think inhabited or inhabitable for that matter. I'm afraid my father is too eager to forge an alliance with you and your kingdom without knowing anything about you."

He looked taken aback by her honesty and then, instead of getting angry, he laughed aloud, "While I won't deny that your thoughts aren't well placed, I can assure you that your fear isn't warranted. It is always a good means to know your neighbor," he started them walking again, but his other hand had come to rest on her own. The contact of skin on skin nearly burned her. He felt hot, as if there were a fire barely contained by his skin. "I appreciate your cautious nature and the care you have for your kingdom." She nodded, though she was still unnerved by him, "If there is a way that I can extinguish your fears, I do hope that you will tell me."

She looked up at him, feeling that perhaps she wasn't being fair, "Maybe if you tell me a bit about yourself?"

He offered her a smile and it was dazzling, she felt her pulse quicken and she worried slightly that he may sway her, "I am the oldest of my siblings so, in the event of my father's fall I will be crowned king if you will. Though, I am sure that you noticed that I am hardly of age to be considered a prince. I am not a young man any longer." He released a breath, "It is my unfortunate circumstance that my parents birthed me when they were very young. So that is why I am still but a prince."

"How old are you?" She asked curiously, while she was sure he was young, his features told the tale that he was youthful. She was sure that he was older than her.

He raised an eyebrow at her, but smiled charmingly nonetheless, "I am thirty one." She looked away, he was almost over half her age. "May I ask why you are curious about my age?"

She looked up at him, startled now. She struggled for a way to mention her fear of being promised to him, without being demeaning. "I... worry that my father will enjoy your company so much that he will seek to have a strong alliance between our kingdoms," she started, using her free hand to fidget with the embellishments on her gown.

"And you fear that, as a means to strengthen an alliance is to award your hand to me?"

She hazarded a look up at him, he didn't appear to be offended by the idea, "It is a thought that crossed my mind."

He chuckled again, the hand that rested on hers started to lightly caress the back of her hand, gooseflesh started to rise under his stroking thumb. "While I see your cause for fearing me, princess, I assure you that is not the purpose of my being here and remaining here for an extended visit. I didn't come here looking for a bride. However," he moved to stroke her cheek and she felt the burn of his touch. "I do not find the idea to be something to be fearful of. You are a lovely girl."

She swallowed hard and forged ahead, "How long do you intend to stay here in Enchancia?"

He sighed as she forced the conversation along, "I intend to stay the remainder of the week. And then it will be a month before I will return. So far, your father and I are working out a trade route that will be quick and less dangerous for us to travel. He has worked out a good route for us to travel through Enchancia on, however finding a safe route through Nigrum back to my castle will prove to be difficult."

"This would ensure safe travel not just for you and your group, but for any traders from Enchancia? Is your kingdom dangerous?" She narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked for any bit of information he would offer. "What are the other things do you have to trade between kingdoms?"

He laughed again, "Have I quirked your interest now, princess? Perhaps you should join your father and I for negotiations. Though," he chuckled again, "something tells me this will not be the last time you and I have a conversation." They reached the entrance of the maze and he untangled her arm from his, though he kept a hold of her hand, "I do so hope that you will overlook the differences in our ages and consider the possibility of the union that you so fear. A lovely lady such as yourself would be quite the prize that I would like to keep on my arm." He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed a light kiss upon it, the whiskers of his mustache and beard tickling her skin. There was something salacious about the way he looked at her.

He released her hand after a moment and gave her a light bow before leaving her at the maze. Her heart was hammering in her chest and there was something about his gaze that left her knees weak. She didn't think it was attraction, she didn't feel attracted to him. She didn't want him, not like she wanted her sorcerer. It wasn't love, definitely not. But, she swallowed hard, perhaps it was with the way that he looked at her, as if he would eat her.

She suddenly felt like she could no longer be alone with her thoughts, she went to the one person that could help her when she felt troubled. She was sure he wouldn't begrudge her a visit. She went to the tower in something of a hurry, feeling eyes borrowing into her even though there was no one around to see her. She stood outside his door and gave it a heavy knock. By the time he answered she was so unnerved she didn't wait for him to allow her to come in, she just flew past him.

"What's this? Oh hello, Princess Sofia, come right in," he snarked at the door after she nearly plowed through him to enter. "I don't mind visitors at all, I have nothing better to do than entertain young girls." He turned to her as he closed the door, glowering. "What is the meaning of nearly running over me to get in here? Are you being chased?"

She shuddered in the middle of his tower, feeling like only now she was not longer being watched. He grew concerned and she didn't fight the urge, she crashed into him and wrapped her arms around his middle. "I'm sorry," she murmured against his chest. "I... I just got finished talking to Victor."

He stood there awkwardly, arms raised as if to embrace her in return but not quite doing it. She whimpered and wished he would care enough to hug her in return. "He still frightens you? I've only seen him in passing. I suppose he can be a bit... intimidating because he looks quite … menacing to me. But then I suppose I am not a hormone filled teenager."

"I don't know what it is about him," she held onto him still. "He … its like he pushes different buttons without an effort."

One of his arms came around her back and he patted her gently, "What kind of buttons is he pushing and how is he pushing them?" He was trying to comfort her in his own way. "What did you talk about that has you clinging to me?"

She closed her eyes enjoying being surrounded by his scent, his body was warm what with the velvet robe he wore but it didn't seem to compare to the fiery heat that Victor seemed to produce. "He knows that I'm afraid of him," she whimpered. "I don't know how, am I really that obvious?"

He snorted lightly and she felt his cheek finally rest against the crown of her head. She started to relax as his other hand came to rest between her shoulders, "I see it. Though, I do know you far better than he does. That and you are practically hiding under my robe." His voice took a softer quality to it, "Have you considered why you are afraid of this man?"

"It's mostly Amber's fault," she confided. "Amber put the idea in my head that I was going to be betrothed to him. And it seems like with the way he looks at me that it might be something he requests," she sighed. "We met out in the maze and he acted as if he was trying to put my fears to rest. But with the way he looked at me, I don't know."

"How did he look at you that is any different than how anyone else looks at you?"

"He looked like he was ready to eat me," she finally pulled back enough so she could look up at him.

"Yes, well, I suppose that could put a person off," he grimaced. "Though I imagine you don't mean he would literally try to eat you. At least not in a cannibalistic manner."

"That matters?" She sighed and relaxed back in his embrace. She was so comforted by it that she wasn't prepared to let go. "The idea is just scary."

"This sounds like this is more of a conversation you should have with your mother instead of me," he grumbled and she could feel his fingers toying with the tips of her hair. "I am not at all prepared to have a conversation with you about sex, and if that is where you intend to take this conversation I demand that you at the very least let go of me." He gripped, "I'll be damned if I let you hold me hostage so you can force me into an embarrassing conversation!"

She shook her head and in protest tightened her hold on him, "Can't you at least comfort me as a friend?"

"Oh yes," he complained, "Let us call this friendship that you enjoy making a mockery of by making things intolerably awkward."

She sighed out of frustration and released him. When she met his gaze she couldn't tell if it was disappointment in his eyes or not. "How am I making it awkward?"

He folded his arms over his chest and seemed to slip back into his mask of snark and sarcasm, "How else do you make friendships awkward, girl? You make people feel things for you that is more than a friendly or appropriate manner." He stepped around her and went to his chair, sitting heavily on it. "What do you want me to do, Sofia?"

Make me unavailable so I am not an option for him, she thought. Though she didn't have the nerve to say it. She knew he cared for her, she felt it in her stomach like butterflies struggling to find a way out. But, for whatever reason he kept her at arms length, no matter how often she tried to push the boundaries he had erected between them. "Think of a way to keep me safe?" She went to her stool as she struggled to think of a route to safety for herself, "I get this feeling like he's someone not to be trusted and it seems like I'm the only one that gets unnerved by him."

"You are perfectly safe, don't be silly," he held up the book that he had found the last time she had come to visit him, "I was able to find some information about the Black Mountains, though it didn't include anything about a kingdom or Royalty that hailed from said mountains," he opened the book and began to leaf through the pages. "The land itself it said to be deceiving and that it's riddled with magic. The mountains themselves are hazardous and one is said to be a volcano. How anyone could carve out a castle from them, I don't know." He looked at her, "I told you the other night that Nigrum was Latin for Black. Whether or not his kingdom is fabricated is still up for discussion. You don't get that many people to follow you without either a hefty sum of gold or other means. He could very likely be a prince."

"He said his father is still alive and well and that would be why he is still a prince at his age," she mentioned, "He looks young, but... not my age. I'm wondering, if you spoke with him or got at least just a good look at him could you tell if he was using magic? Like he had himself charmed to attract those around him?"

He blinked at her as if surprised, "That is... that is actually a very good idea. Really, if you are going to rule having charisma to have people follow you blindly and be appealed to you is brilliant." He paused as he rubbed his chin and seemed to consider other things, "But if he was using some sort of charm on himself, why are you immune? If anything it looks like it's doing the complete opposite on you, repelling you away from him."

"Well," she looked down at the purple jewel that hung for her neck, "I didn't think about it before that he might be using any sort of magic to draw people to him. When he first arrived he seemed to radiate magic. But since he took his armor and crown off he looks normal, well... I guess as normal as he can get."

He seemed to follow her gaze down to her amulet, "That could be what is making you immune to any sort of spell he's cast on himself. If he's cast something on himself."

"Could you tell if he does?"

He shrugged slightly, "I could try to cast a revealio spell on him, but... if all he has cast upon himself is a personality charm it would be hard to tell. If your family has already fallen for his charms there's no telling whether or not it is too late to shake the charm." She started to feel as if her hopes were being physically dashed, "If you are so worried. I can find some warding spells for your private rooms and we can see if there is anyway to enchant your amulet to make sure that it keeps you from falling for any kind of spells that would alter your inhibitions." He sighed as he got up and went back to his bookcase, "It will take me time to find the enchantment for your necklace, but I can come by your room in the morning to ward it."

She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist again, much to his discomfort she was sure. "Both of those will help me a great deal. Thank you very much, Mister Cedric," she tipped up on her tip toes to press a kiss to his cheek. "You have no idea how much all of this means to me!"

"Yes, and you have no idea what all this does to me. Enough making things awkward," he pulled out of her embrace and turned to glare at her. "I have work to do and you are a distraction." He led her to the door, "If you have any more brilliant ideas peak at you feel free to come by to pester me with them. However," he opened the door for her. "Remember to keep the visits to a reasonable hour."

* * *

After that she had gone down to dinner, sitting in her usual spot beside her sister's chair. She was early and none of the other royalty has made their way to the table. It had just been set though the meal itself wasn't complete or on the table, she took the opportune time to sit and collect her thoughts. The prince hadn't answered her last questions. It didn't appear as if he dodged them, he didn't seem any less confident of himself. She found herself wondering though, is that why he stayed for so long?

She was distracted when the door to the dining room opened and Baileywick entered with the king and the foreign prince in tow. They seemed surprised to see her, though Victor didn't seem displeased at her presence. "Sofia," her father said in approval, "Usually you have to be summoned for dinner. Are you alright?"

She stood from her seat out of respect for her father and offered both men a bright smile, "I was hungry." It was a simple reply and not far from the truth. "How are the negotiations on trade fairing?"

Her father chuckled as he sat at the head of the table, "Well, that is the best excuse to come to the dinner table early." He waved for both of them to be seated and she sat, Victor sat immediately to the king's right. "I would say negotiations are going well enough. Victor here drives a hard bargain, but I suppose after centuries of living in isolation that's finally been ended you can't just strike out into the rest of the world without a good head on your shoulders."

"I may not have the experience with the other kingdoms of the world, but I have a few siblings and if they have taught me anything it is always best to know how to talk your way out of trouble," he turned his gaze to the princess and looked at her appreciatively. "It was as I told you before, princess, it is just a matter of mapping out a safe route between kingdoms."

"You two spoke about it before?" Her father seemed surprised. "For a while there I thought Sofia was hiding from you, Victor. Both James and Amber have been all too eager to learn about you and your kingdom, but when moments to talk of such things come up I see hide nor hair of Sofia."

She flushed, "I am sorry for my rudeness."

Victor shook his head and looked to her father, "I was lucky enough to find her while I was lost in your maze. I think she was harboring some fear of me, but she was kind enough to lead me out of the maze once I found her." He leaned back in his chair and, after a servant came to fill their glasses with wine, plucked up his glass for a sip. "I hope, after our little conversation that she has gotten over her fears."

She smiled slightly, curious now and looked to her father as well, "I was hoping to join you two after dinner, observe as you come to an agreement."

"Ah," her father looked perplexed by the idea, "We have been ending our nights with a drink or two, Sofia, I don't know that is really something you should observe."

"I don't mind her presence, if you don't," Victor offered.

"Well," he seemed uneasy by the idea and she found herself curious as to why. "I suppose just this once couldn't hurt."

It wasn't long before the rest of the family joined them and their meal was set upon the table. She declined the meat dish, a smoked turkey that smelled divine, but her preference of not eating anything that she could understand had her leaning towards a vegetarian diet. The kitchen staff were always ready to humor her alternative tastes and always supplied a wide variety of vegetables for dinner.

They were entertained at dinner by a retelling of one of the flying derby races that she and James had won while attending Royal Prep. It appeared that Victor was unaware of what flying derby was and James took great joy in telling the prince all the details. The prince seemed impressed and she would often find him gazing at her, while his gaze didn't appear to hold any of the lecherousness that it did earlier, though it was still unnerving. "You are more than just a pretty face, then?" He murmured out loud, gaining a look from her father. "That is impressive, princess."

She cleared her throat and looked from Victor to her father, "Princess is just a title, my lord. With enough determination anyone can do anything that they set their mind to," she took a moment to sip her wine. "I am not satisfied with simply being a pretty thing to look at," she smiled at him, hoping that he would be deterred by the idea he mentioned before. Her being a prize to be on his arm.

"That is actually a pleasant surprise, princess," he commented as he paused to peer at his own meal. "Having bravery is something to be commended, especially when it comes to princesses," he looked to his father. "You are quite capable at raising well mannered and strong children."

Her father smiled at the compliment and sat back from the table, evidentially finished with his meal. "I surely do appreciate the praise, though, I can't take all the credit," he looked to her mother, "I have had a lot of help." He took a moment to pat his stomach, "I don't know about the rest of you but I don't believe I could eat another bite."

"Hm, yes," their visitor agreed. "You, also, have quite the luck with skilled cooks that occupy your kitchen. I don't believe I have eaten so well in years. I know when I leave tomorrow I will definitely miss the feasts that you have been so kind to supply." He cast her a glance before returning his full attention to her father, "Ready for an after dinner brandy then, my friend?"

"That sounds fabulous," her father stood and looked to the rest of the table's occupants. "We are going to retire to my study and forgo dessert. If you need anything," he looked to her mother, "You know where to find me."

Victor rose aswell, offering her mother and siblings a slight bow, "Your company and tales have been a joy. I hope to see you all in the morning before I depart." The two men left the dining room to find their way to her father's study.

"He seems to be smitten with you, Sofia," her sister remarked.

"I dunno," her brother pushed his plate forward before looking to their mother. "He seems kinda of old for Sofia, I know I'm not the only one that sees it."

"Well," their mother started as she considered their concerns, "I do agree that he seems to be taken with Sofia, he and your father have not made any sort of arrangements to make anything of it. I think your concern of the age difference is well place, James," her mother smiled. "But, I don't think it there's a reason to be concerned. After all, he and his entourage will be leaving in the morning."

She stood, "I'm finished with my dinner. May I be excused?"

"What you don't want dessert?" James looked confused, "When do you ever skip dessert?"

She shot him a look, "I'm full." She looked hopefully to her mother, "May I be excused?" Her mother gave her a nod and she left the room, not going the same way the two men had but circling around to her father's study. She was sure her mother and sister would object if they knew she was going to be present to see them drinking.

She stood outside her father's study and nervously tapped on it. She wasn't sure what her point was to sit in on this 'meeting,' but she was curious. The door slid open and she was met with a warm look from the foreign prince. "Sofia," he stepped aside and gestured her to enter, "I am glad you decided to join us."

Her father sat behind his desk, which was littered with a huge map that seemed to depict the territory of Enchancia as well as several scrolls that she thought might be various agreements they struggled through. "Sofia," her father raised his tumbler to her, it was half full of an amber liquid and from the flush of his cheeks she assumed that this wasn't the first glass of brandy that they had entertained. "Come have a seat," he waved to one of the plush chairs that sat before his desk.

The prince moved to the wet bar that was set to the side of the room refilling his own tumbler from a crystal bottle. He paused to cast her a look, unlike her father he didn't appear to be flushed from their drinking, "Shall I get you a glass of brandy, princess?'

"No," her father answered for her. "While I agreed to have her sit with us, I don't think it would be appropriate for her to entertain the beverage." He sipped it himself and then looked at his daughter, "I know you are old enough, but I would rather not see how much of his brandy you can stomach."

"His brandy?"

"One of the many things I brought with me is brandy," he sat beside her in the other chair that occupied the space before her father's desk. "I mentioned that dwarves are one of the many creatures that live in the mountains, they do enjoy brewing and experimenting with different ales. They can be quite delicious if not potent."

"Is that one of the things you are including in your trade agreement?" She looked between the two men.

Her father laughed and then snorted, "I should. I do have to tell you that the flavor of this is something that I've been enjoying."

"I will be sure to bring you a cask or two of it when I return," he looked pleased by the idea.

"That sounds like something that should call for a ball or a feast at the very least," her father sat forward to look at the map, "Now, before we get too much further into our drinks we do have one last thing to discuss. The route into Nigrum."

"I will have to supply you with a map upon my return for an agreeable route for your traders to traverse," the prince rumbled around his glass. "I understand that this being the first visit between us that your maps will not show all that is between our castles, but it is hard for me to give you the safest route when I see the majority of it from the sky."

"Yes, flying coaches can be quick but they do have a tendency to take away from what the land has to offer."

She leaned forward to peer at the map as the talked and saw an opening in the mountain range, though it was just on the map, "Is this map true? Is there really an opening here in the range?"

Her father blinked and looked to where she pointed, "I believe so, it was made by the best map maker in the kingdom."

Victor leaned forward, too, getting uncomfortably close to her, "If this map is true to the actual terrain, what you could do is you could have an Inn and stables there. If trade between our kingdoms flourish it could actually be expanded into a village to meet the needs of those traveling through."

"That is actually a good idea," Victor said beside her. He sat back and looked at her, his gaze seemed to touch her. "You have quite the head on your shoulders," he rumbled as he drained the last of his drink.

"If we get Cedric on it we could have a nice sized Inn and stables built and ready to run before your return visit to Enchancia," her father commented, liking the idea so much that he took the time to search for clean parchment and a quill. "Sofia, you may have just got yourself sitting in on all the royal business I have to attend to." He wrote down a note as a reminder. "We will get this rolling and we can do an exchange of trade items at the valley in the mountain range."

"Success," Victor said with a smile, standing to pour himself another drink. "Just in the nick of time, too. What luck," he opened the crystal decanter and poured a healthy amount of liquor into his glass. "Roland you best keep an eye on your girl here. If you intend to marry her off make sure you get a good offer out of the deal. She will make for a fierce queen."

"That's our Sofia, Victor," her father said, looking at her with pride. "She has always been a pride to us achieving so much. She graduated with honors from Royal Prep."

She flushed at the praise, suddenly feeling awkward at being the center of attention, "I would snap her up and steal her away, if you would let me," the prince said as he eyed her.

Her father laughed and sighed, "That will have to be something we discuss at another time. Especially when I have a little less to drink. If I'm going to promise Sofia's hand to anyone I most certainly want to have a clear mind for it."

She started to protest, looking from her father to Victor with trepidation, "I would rather have a choice in the matter." But, unfortunately, as she voiced her displeasure at the idea, her mother opened the door to the study and distracted both men.

Victor stood in respect, but her father remained lounging in his seat. "Gentlemen, it's getting late. Sofia? What are you doing in here? I thought you already went to bed," her mother went around the desk of her father and gave him a glare, "You weren't allowing her to drink, too, were you?"

"What?" He snorted and shook his head, "I'm the king, do you really think I would be irresponsible like that?"

"Yes, your majesty," her mother said with a touch of sarcasm. "You're also fairly drunk. I think it's time we retire for the night, I hope you finished your business here?"

"I've made him useless to you Queen Miranda, I hope you won't hold it against me," Victor took a moment to down the rest of his brandy in one quick shot. "However, Princess Sofia did manage to come and assist us where we were at an impasse at. Quite the daughter you have," he looked to her. "May I escort you to your rooms, My Lady?" He offered her an arm and he seemed to waver slightly, suggesting that he was also fairly drunk.

She stood and looked to her mother, "I wasn't drinking. I was just curious about what they were talking about."

Her mother smiled then looked to Victor, "Okay. Let him escort you to your room, but see to it that he doesn't join you in it."

"Don't worry," she smiled to her mother and, somewhat uncomfortably, took the arm of the foreign prince and allowed him to lead her out of the room. He held her hand against his forearm as he did in the maze and his hand seemed to blaze against her skin. "You are leaving tomorrow?"

He seemed slightly distracted as she actually led the way to her bedroom, "Hmm? Yes, yes, it was agreed upon when we first arrived that we wouldn't stay more than a week. Though, I think it was because your father was intimidated at first. My armor has that unfortunate effect on people."

"Why wear it then?"

He blinked at her, "You wear armor as a means of protection, Princess. It's worn to ensure that if you are to be attacked it will be harder for you to be killed. While, I don't entirely expect you to understand the danger that is out in this world, I'm sure you can understand the desire to be kept safe." His sway that had been in his gait when they were still in her father's study seemed to leave him and he was once again the picture of sobriety.

"I asked you earlier if your land was dangerous and you didn't answer me then, I'm assuming from this response that it means that it is," she looked ahead as they began to scale the staircase to the upper floor. "The reason you and dad were having issues about agreeing upon a safe route is you know your land isn't safe."

He smiled and she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rise, "that is an astute assumption, whether or not there is any merit to it is entirely a different thing. However, if you would like to join me tomorrow while I make my return home your company would be quite welcome. Then, you could see first hand if my land is dangerous or not."

They reached the hallway that her room was on, she paused not sure if she wanted him to know which door was hers. "That is a nice offer, but I must decline. I'm afraid after tonight my father will want me to be present for more of his political handlings," she started to turn towards him, hoping he would let them part ways here. "I'm close enough to my room to make it on my own, thank you."

He didn't release her hand though, he merely leveled her a look and started forward again. He watched her, not at all watching his own step, and lead the rest of the way to her door. She was frightened when he stopped there and brought her hand to his lips for a kiss, as he had done in the garden. "I hope to see you in the morning before my party and I depart. Will you be there to send me off?"

She wanted to question how he knew which door was hers, but she couldn't find the nerve. She merely met his gaze, which seemed to burn like fire, and could only nod to answer his request. "I bid you a good night, sweet princess," he pressed another kiss to the back of her hand before releasing it. She watched as he turned and went back to the stair case to find his way back to the guest quarters.

* * *

There was a persistent tapping at her door that pulled her from her sleep. She sat up drowsily and glared at the door. After Victor had dropped her off at her door the night before she had found it near impossible to sleep. It had been just as the sun began to peek above the horizon that she had finally manage to doze off. It was as if who ever knew she was just entering a fitful sleep had decided to wreck it.

With a groan, she got up from her bed and found her robe. She wrapped it around herself and went to the door to glower at her unexpected visitor. Only he wasn't unexpected. The sorcerer stood at her door looking just as annoyed as she felt, "Look at this." He gripped, "Finally, I have the opportunity to return the treatment you have give me all these years. Give me a moment, I need to enjoy this."

"Are you going to hug me, too?" She smirked at him, knowing that would be more than he would be willing to do.

"The prospect is tempting, but it would be improper with your state of undress and the fact that we would be in your private rooms," he huffed at her. "Why does it look like you are just now rolling out of bed?"

"Because you just woke me up, why are you here so early?"

"If I do recall correctly, and I do so don't bother trying to argue, a certain princess came to my tower yesterday after lunch in a bit of a tizzy. Something about a man frightening her or to that affect and wanting a ward placed upon her room," he sighed and plucked his wand from his sleeve and offered up the heavy tome that was his spell-book. "And me being the dutiful sorcerer that I am, informed the princess that I would ward her room in the morning. And look at this, it's morning."

She winced and moved aside to allow him in,"but why so early?" She went to the basin in her room and poured some water into it, she was up now she might as well start getting ready for the day. She took a moment to splash the cool water on her face the blotted it dry with a towel. "You couldn't have waited until after ten?"

"Aren't you the one that usually rises with the sun?" She could feel him watching her as she cleaned her face, "The real question here is why were you still in bed? You aren't getting sick, are you? Of course you would be, that is why you were hugging me so much yesterday. It was to infect me, wasn't it?"

She turned to glare at him, setting down the towel, "No, I didn't sleep very well last night. And I hug you, because you're my friend. If I've ever gotten you sick it wasn't intentional."

He snorted at her, "Yes, well. Unfortunately for you, sorcerers do not get sick. So that plan was foiled anyway." He opened his spell-book and started to leaf through the pages, "I am here so early because I have a busy day ahead of me. Your father summoned me for a task that I will need to assist with, among other duties that I have. So, as I assumed you were already up that I could come in here and do this quickly."

She yawned and started off towards her closet, "Alright. I'm going to dress, I suppose there will be a breakfast set. Victor and his party are leaving today."

"Well, if the man is leaving today do I really need to do this?"

She paused at the door to her closet, turning to meet his disgruntled gaze, "Yes, he'll be returning for another visit. He was very adamant about the fact that he was coming back. Will the wards last very long?"

"These wards will be on your room for longer than you will be alive. So, that, Princess, is not something you will have to worry about."

"Give me a moment to dress, I have questions,"she opened the door to her closet and went it, for her closet was less closet and more separate room with entirely too much clothing in it.

"Oh yes, leave a grown man in your room so you can undress and redress as if it were nothing," she heard him complain. "Continually vexed by this woman, I don't understand why I do this to myself!"

She quickly went about undressing and then finding the most comfort, simple to put on gown. Too simple and their departing guest would likely take it as an insult, too complicated to put on and she would be in trouble. From his complaints, Cedric was very unlikely to help her dress. Once she was dressed she hurried out of her closet to see him busy casting wards about her room.

"What will the wards do?"

He jumped slightly then glared at her, "Don't startle a sorcerer like that." He paused long enough to answer her question. "They will keep magics from entering your room, well.. Magic outside of my own. So, if he tries to charm you outside your door or in your room it will do nothing. It will also keep him from watching via magical means." He turned back to his book, raising his wand, "I hope that satisfies you."

She let him get back to work and sat at her vanity, running a brush through her hair and looking at the dark circles under her eyes. She didn't look like a vision as the foreign prince had claimed and she found herself rubbing at her eyes. "You look positively horrid," he was standing behind her, apparently finished with his spell casting. "How many hours of sleep did you get?"

"I don't know, maybe three," she whimpered. "Thank you on your compliment."

He only offered her a smirk, "I would suggest that you go back to bed, but you do have the duty of seeing the prince off. I can give you a sleep potion that will allow you a nap afterwards."

"Oh," she couldn't help but sound relieved, "That sounds like that will be lovely." She looked at him through the mirror, taking a moment to put power on her cheeks and made a vain attempt to hide the dark circles beneath her eyes. "If your wards prevent magic other than yours from entering my room. What would it do to people that were already affected by magic?"

He looked thoughtful before all he could do was shrug, "I don't know, to be honest, however I can imagine where you are going with this. A room is one thing. The entire castle is a whole different thing." He looked put out by the idea, "Honestly, that would require multiple sorcerers to do and even then it wouldn't be reliable. Nice try though."

"Will you go with me to see him off?"

"He's leaving! Why do I even need to go?"

"I will owe you one," she turned to look at him, ready to beg. "Please."

"Fine," he grumped, "But you owe me more than one, girl. You need to start keeping a better count for how many things you owe me for. You are lucky that your father has business with me, otherwise I would just go to my tower and lock the door." She stood up and before he could even think to wave her off, she had her arms wrapped around his middle, "This is not a sufficient payment! And this is hardly an a-a-appropriate place for you to show me affections like this!" She heard him swallow thickly, "If-if someone would to walk in they would think something that is most definitely not going on is going on."

She sighed, thinking if he would just stop resisting something could definitely be going on. She pulled back a little to look up at him, "Name what you want me to do for you and I'll do it. I didn't think I could exchange hugs for the hard work you do, I couldn't take advantage of you like that."

"I know," he grumbled and put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her away. "You tempt fate too much, I will let you know what you can do for me in exchange for my services later. I have a meeting with your father to attend, I can't very well tell him that I was late due to having to pry you off of me."

"Victor's likely to be there, too. See if you can tell if he's using any magic?"

"I will pay extra attention to our visitor in the event he is there," he went to her door and bowed to dramatically, "Is there anything else I can do to serve you, princess?"

She shook her head, even though she knew he was being sarcastic, "I will see you later."

"Of course you will," he snarked before he turned to leave her room.

She took the time to try to make herself look a little bit more presentable before she went down to breakfast. Her mother and siblings were already at the table, her father and their visitor were absent. But, she supposed that they were fine tuning the idea that she had supplied them with. Despite the amount of work she put into making her appearance look fresh, her mother saw right through it.

"Sofia, are you alright?"

She forced a smile and nodded to her mother, "I just didn't sleep well." She picked at her pancakes and stifled a yawn, "I think after we see Victor off that I will go take a nap."

"Alright, I'll let your father know. I think he's eager to get you sitting in more of his political meetings, I don't know what you said but he was impressed," she smiled at her daughter then looked to the twins. "I think the three of you should consider taking the meetings your father has you join more seriously as well."

James groaned, "But it's so boring."

"Unfortunately, being a leader isn't always exciting," her mother confided. She and Amber knew that their mother did more than she let on.

"Where's dad at? And Victor? I thought if he was leaving today he'd at least have breakfast before they left," James looked curious, setting his fork down as he had finished his own meal.

"They took breakfast in your father's study, they had some final thing to achieve so they won't be joining us," she didn't looked pleased at the idea. "However, as soon as they are done we will be escorting Victor to his caravan to see him off and wish him safe travels."

"He's coming back though, right?" Her sister asked. "Do you think Daddy would let us throw a ball for him? It's been a while since I have been able look fabulous for a reason. We could throw a ball and invite other kingdoms in to introduce him to them. It would be a great means for them to open up communications with him as well."

"That is a good idea, Amber," her father boomed as he entered the room, Victor trailing just behind him. "I'm sure there are other kingdoms that would be interested in the things that Nigrum has to offer as well as having many trade items that you kingdom could use."

She peered around the men and saw Cedric edging into the room, hunched over and looking cowed as he usually did in the presence of her father. She winced, even after all these years her father still managed to intimidate the sorcerer. The prince in question had donned his armor again, it caused him to look menacing even though his expression was relaxed and wore a pleasant smile. "I suppose I will have to bring more casks of brandy and ale when I return then," Victor chuckled, "I don't mind at a ball at all as long as I could be promised one of your fair daughters to be on my arm for the night," he gave her a wink.

"I am sure we could arrange something, right, Sofia?"

She swallowed hard, turning to look at her father. She wanted to shake her head, to decline, but with all eyes on her, she could only nod. The foreign prince smiled and turned to look at her father, "I will be in contact with you once I arrive back to my castle. We have many plans that still need to be gone over, but if I drag my feet for too much longer my party and I will be leaving later than I first intended," he clasped her father's hand, giving it a firm shake. "You and your family have be more than hospitalable. I am grateful for your kindness. But, we must get moving."

Her family rose from the table and trailed behind the king and the prince as they still spoke of his travels to come. They lined up to the right of her father in order, with her ending up at the end. She felt the comforting shadow of her sorcerer not far behind her. He kept behind her, to her left and she hoped that this wouldn't linger on so she would have the opportunity to speak with him.

Victor took the time to bid each of them farewell, once again shaking hands with her father before offering him a deep, respectful bow. He kissed her mother's hand and from here she could see the older woman flush warmly, it disturbed her a little that he had managed to charm her as well. He clapped James on the shoulder and apologized for not being able to spend more time getting to know the younger man. He expressed his hope that he would be able to show him what flying derby was after his return. He came to Amber and kissed her hand, commending her on the brilliant idea of a ball for his return. When he stopped at her, she saw a burning in his eyes. "Princess Sofia," he picked up her hand and bowed deeply to her before pulling her hand to his mouth, "It has been a grand opportunity to meet you and your family. I look forward to my return so I can have the chance to bask in your beauty once again."

She grimaced and she curtseyed to him, "Safe travels." Was all that she could manage. The prince only offered the sorcerer behind her a fleeting glance before he turned and started towards his carriage. "I shall be in contact with you soon, King Roland." He then stepped into it. The carriage he stepped into was as forbidding as the armor he wore, it wasn't at all like the carriages of Enchancia. It was a gleaming black and appeared to have scales as well as horns, the underside of it was a mottled brown. The two horses at it's reigns were sleek and beautiful black stallions. With a whistle of the driver they started to trot off. After a short trot the whole carriage started to rise into the sky. The caravan started following just behind their prince.

She breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look to her family, "I think I'm going to retire for a nap."

Her mother nodded, her brother and sister went to go about their own things. Her father gave her mother a kiss and went back into the castle. She turned to the sorcerer that had linger behind her and took his arm as she started to go back into the castle herself. "So, what did you learn?"

"That he is a frightening man and you have just cause to be afraid of him," he said seriously, seeming to not at all be bothered by the fact that she had a hold of his arm. "There are definite enchantments on his armor and crown, but I couldn't place them. I do find myself wondering if they do anything other than glow. If all they do is give him a glow it does nothing more than add to his appearance. Granted," he was on a tirade about it, though she didn't bother to interrupt him. "His overall appearance is intimidating. He is taller than your father and his sheer girth is impressive. I can only assume it is all muscle because soft is not a verb I would use to describe him."

"Did he speak with you at all?"

He grimaced at her, "Girl, I am the help. The only person that ever really speaks to me outside of giving me orders is you. And no, your father was the only one that addressed me. I was otherwise ignored and I think that is the way I preferred it with that man in the room." He started to sulk after a moment, "There's nothing like being ignored when you are being asked to do the kingdom a favor."

"I'm sorry," she patted his arm, "I can only imagine how it made you feel. Could you tell if he had any sort of charm on him?"

"Aside from the visual charms on him, no. I couldn't tell if he had any sort of extra charisma to him," he looked down at her. "If he has charms, perhaps they are natural."

"I guess I was just immune to his natural charms," she was leading them to her bedroom, feeling the lack of sleep catching up with her. "That just means everyone else wasn't." She sighed, "What are we going to do when he comes back?"

"You haven't the choice in the matter, but to humor him," he patted her hand as if he were trying to comfort her. "It is an act that you, as royalty, will have to endure his presence for each function he deems to attend. As I must endure the lack of respect and appreciation I get."

They stopped outside her bedroom door and she looked up at him, "Mister Cedric, I appreciate you and I respect you."

"Yes, I know," he paused and pulled a vial from his sleeve. "For a fitful rest," he offered it to her.

She took it then closed the distance to give him a tight hug, "Thank you for all your help. I'll come visit you tomorrow."

He patted her back then pulled out of her grasp, "Yes, yes you are welcome. Be sure when you come to the tower that you dress appropriately because I will be putting you to work. Sweet dreams, princess," he said in something of a sing-song voice before he turned go find his way to his tower.

She watched him go, smiling fondly before she turned to enter her room. With a quick practice, she shed her gown and, without a thought, collapsed on her bed. She only sat up to knock back the potion. It wasn't long until the potion pulled her into the sweet oblivion of a dreamless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy."

So, I'm trying to put as much as I can in each chapter to make the story I guess to paint a picture of the situation Sofia is in. I don't want to split it up into smaller chapters because I want each chapter to revolve around a bigger event so that is why they're longer than any of my other works. And yea, it takes me a bit longer to finish the chapters because I'm trying to tie in one event to another and all that happens in between. Be patient. The gewd stuff is coming.

* * *

Her father hadn't been kidding when he told her she would be sitting in on more of his meetings. Anytime there was a squabble in the village and they petitioned the king for judgment, she was at his side to hear the grievances and found herself consulted by her father for a solution. It was easy with the villagers because they were familiar with her and many seemed to like her. She had been one of them. Her solutions were more often than not fair and often enough if the people involved had thought, they would have surely considered the solution themselves.

Much to her father's pleasure, she was often commended by those involved. There would be the occasion parties would send the castle gifts, pies and puddings that delighted her father.

The only disadvantage to the situation was it encroached upon her magic lessons. She mournfully had to cut back on the number of lessons. After the first missed lesson she had come to his tower with cookies swiped from the kitchen as a means to appease him. She knocked on the door and hoped that he wouldn't be too cross with her.

He opened the door just a little to peer at her, "Oh. It's you."

"I brought you cookies," she offered him a bright smile, hoping to smooth over the insult. "Your favorite kind."

He grimaced at her before throwing open the door and allowing her in, "You're lucky I'm hungry." He closed the door behind her then went back to the spell-book on his work table, "I managed to find the enchant we talked about, for your amulet." He tapped a page, "I'll need to gather some ingredients to do this, so it will require a visit to the charmacy. Some strange dust and a few lesser magic essences should do it."

"Have you found anything else out about Victor or his kingdom?"

He gave her an exaggerated look, "You want me to do more research?"

"I could help?"

"You are more of a distraction than a help," he turned to look up at his collection of books, "This could take a while to look through them all for some bit of information that may not be there. Why is it that you want to know more about him and his kingdom?"

"Well, if there are any involving history we could narrow down which ones we look through," she picked up a cookie to nibble on it. "And it's always best to know who and what you are dealing with. Ignorance can be dangerous."

"Know thy enemy," he chuckled. "You're making me think I have taught you well. I suppose going through the actual history texts may be a good idea, however, we are probably better off actually pursuing those that are in the library rather than those in my tower," he raised an eyebrow at her as he growled, "That is some research you could do on your own."

She didn't resist the urge to stick out her bottom lip, "But, the company of my favorite sorcerer is so nice." She sighed when he did nothing, but glower at her. There were times where she thought she could worm just about anything out of him and then again there were times where he would resist her like a force. Her missed lesson was likely culprit. "I do have another idea, but I would like you to hear me out."

"This should be good," he wrapped his arms over his chest and continued to glare. "Out with it then."

"Maybe we could go to Mystic Meadows and see if there are any of the older sorcerers or sorceresses are familiar with the name of Victor's kingdom or the name Nefarius."

"You don't trust my opinion then?"

"That's not it," she reached forward to grab his hand, "That's not at all what I meant! What I was trying to say is there is a lot of OLDER sorcerers there. Maybe they've dealt with or heard of the place."

He frowned at her, looking as if he was a cross between insulted or pleased. "Fine, when do you suggest that we do this? Between my own duties and yours, that doesn't really supply either of us with a lot of free time to visit my parents or the other aging sorcerers of the world."

She winced, because he was right. "We have a month before he comes back to Enchancia. I don't want to be unarmed, if you will, for when he does come back," she sighed and rubbed at her temple as she could feel a headache, brought on by frustration, building. "I feel like I'm getting backed into a corner," she admitted.

"And you are dragging me into that corner with you?"

She gave him a begrudging smile, "I wouldn't have anyone else beside me in a hard situation."

He flushed suddenly, seemly caught off guard, "There you go again." He huffed as he turned away from her to distractedly go through the mess on his work table. "Making things awkward again."

She heaved a sigh and, much to his displeasure, wrapped her arms around his middle and leaned into his back, "How is it that I make things awkward?"

"You tempt me to no end," he complained, glaring at her over his shoulder. "You vex me and the more you cling to me, the harder I find it to deny you. What do I get from all of this?"

"What do you want?" She huffed a breath, "Name it. I'll do my best to give it to you or get it done."

"Y-you," he colored again and looked away, as if thinking better of it. "You needn't worry about it right now, I'll think of something later."

She sighed in defeat and leaned a little heavier against him, turning her head to rest her cheek against the his back. She could hear his heart hammering in his chest. She could press him, if she wanted to. But, he would hold it against her if she did. "I would give you what you want," she murmured.

He laughed unsteadily, "Yes, I am quite aware that you would, but you need to be aware that your offerings are inappropriate." He sighed and turned in her embrace, putting his hands upon her shoulders. "As much as I may want to accept, if your parents were to find out about it, it would lead to nothing but trouble for us both. If this Victor turns out to be a suitor for you and he sees how I dote upon you all he has to do is whisper in your father's ear." He took a moment to brush his fingers through her hair and she thought he looked pained, "Be reasonable, princess."

She pulled away from him, knowing that all he said was true. She looked up at him and tried her best to smile, "Then I guess we'll have to remain just friends. I'll try not to make it awkward anymore."

"It will be an effort we both have to make," he assured her.

She nodded, "I'm going to go to the library to start doing some research, I'm going to have to cut lessons back to once a week. Don't be mad at me, okay?"

"I think at this moment I would be hard pressed to be mad," he confided as he shrugged his shoulders. "I will call upon my mother and get her to speak with the other residences of Mystic Meadows. If we find anything, I'll be sure to let you know."

She turned to leave, her heart feeling heavy. "Goodbye, Mister Cedric," she closed the door behind herself. It was hard not to cry, she wanted to. But, deep down, she knew he was right. It just hurt to know that the one person she wanted, she couldn't have.

She made her way to the library, going up to the third floor. The library in the castle was vast, one of the elder kings of Enchancia had taken pride in the need of knowledge and made an effort to gain as many texts about the world as he could. There were massive tomes in the library that were hundreds of years old, the only thing that kept them disintegrating into dust was the magic that was used to hold them together.

She recalled a recent complaint from her sorcerer about having to replenish the magical bindings on them. While her father hadn't entirely made an effort to add to the wealth of knowledge that the library kept, he had made an effort to keep it maintained. Perhaps he realized the importance of all the books in here.

She went to the front desk to greet the librarian. The little woman that worked in the library was the epitome of what every librarian should look like. She was a tiny little thing, though she knew that the woman was more than capable of wrestling with a stack of the large tomes that occupied the library. She sported glasses that were several sizes larger than her actual eyes, but they still managed to magnify them to a large proportion. Her silver hair was pulled back severely into a neat bun that had several pencils sticking through it. Despite her stern looks, Sofia knew the woman to be motherly and kind. She was just extremely protective of the books she looked after.

"Miss Pomfery?" She started curiously, the woman seemed to be buried nose deep into a book.

At her beckon, the little woman jumped, startled. She peered around the library before her magnified gaze settled on Sofia, she then breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, Princess! You startled the life from me!'

She watched her bemused, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I just came in to do a little research and I was hoping you could help me?"

The librarian stood and adjusted her glasses, looking the princess up and down. "Research? You are no longer in school, deary, what kind of project would you be working on?"

She smiled at her, "We had a visitor and I was hoping I could find something about the kingdom he came from, you know, to better understand him and his customs. Do you think you could help me?"

"I would be delighted! I had no idea there was a visitor, but then again the only visitors I ever get, now that you children have grown up, are Cedric and Baileywick." She toddled around her desk and took Sofia by the arm, leading her towards the shelves of books, "Cedric comes in to see to the care of the books and Baileywick has to come in to remind to me to take a lunch. The kind man knows me well to know that I would probably starve all together due to the fact that I was buried so deep in a book that I have a tendency to forget!" She waved her hand, suddenly remembering why the she was there, "What was it you were doing research on, again, dear?"

"Prince Victor, that was our visitor, said he came from a kingdom called Nigrum. It was beyond the Black Mountains. I was wondering if there was something of a history of it, or at the very least a history of the Black Mountains," she offered the woman.

"I've not heard of the kingdom," she commented as she took another moment to adjust her glasses. "We can start with a history of the world and perhaps some maps. Surely it will be on a map," she let go of her arm and gestured to one set of shelves. "You will find a novel or two over on those set of shelves that will have history of both Enchancia and of the world. The bigger one will be of the world. I will go see what I can hunt up and bring it to the table, if you get lost feel free to give me a shout and I will come to help you!" With that said the little woman toddled off to another set of shelves.

She heaved a sigh as she looked at the large shelf full of books, now she saw why Cedric hadn't been so keen on helping her with the research. If it was information she wanted to know though, she was best to get to it. She took the time to pursue each spine of each tome, pleased that it was made easy by them being alphabetical order. Though, really, she should expect no less from the librarian, she led a tight ship. She found a text with the title 'History of Enchanica,' when she pulled it from the shelf she nearly dropped it. It appeared to be heavier than it looked. Hefting it up, she took it to one of the study tables, seeing that the librarian had already dropped off two texts for her. She set the book down and decided, perhaps, she should look for the other before she buried herself into the sizable tome that she had already found.

She went back to her search, knowing there was one that should provide history of the world as she had been informed. What she came upon was a 'Brief History of the Kingdoms of the World,' which she hefted off the shelf. It was sizable also and nearly strained her arms as she hugged it to her chest. She kept peering at titles, looking for something that might hop off the shelf and jump at her.

There were texts on the various king of Enchancia's past, she didn't spy one on her father but she supposed that was due to the fact that he was still ruling. There was even a text on some of the queens of Enchancia, though there weren't as many as there was for kings, it probably had something to do with the fact that they didn't see women as important as men in the earlier days of the kingdom. The thought made her sad. She wondered if her mother would get a book written about her, she had done enough for the kingdom, but she didn't know if she was recognized for the work that she did.

She frowned when she came upon another title, it seemed out of place. 'The Dark Places out Beyond,' it sounded as if it belonged in Cedric's tower. On a whim, she grabbed the book. It was most definitely lighter than the book she already carried. Deciding that this was enough for now, she went back to the study desk, seeing that the librarian had in fact added to her pile. The little woman was now seated back behind her desk and gave her a wave, "That is what I could find, I stopped when I realized that it would take you some time to pursue those titles. Unless you would like me to find you more?"

She smiled, "No, no this is fine. I don't imagine that I will be able to get through these all tonight. Will it be alright if I leave them here?"

"That'll be fine, I'll get you a rolling cart that you can place the books on when you're finished with them. Then I'll replace them," she offered her a smile in return.

"Time to get reading this, I guess," she sat down in the chair and looked at all the books that the other woman had supplied her with. She felt overwhelmed, had she bitten off more than she can chew? She picked up a book that the librarian had supplied, 'Maps' was its sole title. Figuring it was the best place to start she opened it and started to leaf through the pages. She stopped when she came across a map of the kingdom of Enchancia, dark mountains were depicted to its south and nothing more. Frowning, she turned the page then gave pause. It was the area south of her kingdom. There wasn't a lot of details depicted, as if the person drawing the map had only seen what he could from a great height. But the area was split into two segments. 'Burning Steppes,' was the area that was close to a large mountain, there looked to be a plume of smoke above it. Could it be a volcano? Another area was labeled as 'Searing Gorge,' it made the prospect of the area definitely seem foreboding.

She looked down towards the bottom of the map, hoping to find footnotes and was disappointed. She put a bookmark on the page. It still provided some important information. She turned another page but only found a map of Rudistan. She leafed through the book further until she concluded that it gave her as much information as she could get out of it. She set it aside, starting a pile for books that would remain out, and started upon another.

Hours past by as she soon found herself immersed into the books. There was no record about the kingdom Nigrum and she found herself wondering if he had fabricated it. She paused at the title she had picked up on a whim, 'The Dark Places out Beyond.' She had just opened it when she heard the door to the library open.

"Miss Pomfery," the steward started. "Your shift has ended ma'am, it's time for you to retire for the day."

The librarian smiled brightly and stood, "Thank you for reminding me, deary. You know I'd stay here all night if there wasn't someone to remind me to go home!" She toddled to the door and was out it without another word.

When the steward noticed her at the table, he came and put a hand on her shoulder, "Princess, whatever are you doing?"

She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him, "I was doing a little bit of research."

He looked at the various titles that littered the table, "Research on what exactly? How long have you been here?"

"Just since lunch," she offered a shrug, thinking perhaps she wouldn't get to read the book in her hand just yet. "I thought I'd try to see if there was anything in the library about Victor and his kingdom."

"Oh? Have you found anything?" He looked curious, "I can't imagine you would if his kingdom was in isolation, as he said. Though, your grandfather King Gideon had a love of books and history much like your Great-great grandfather King Gideon the third. It's believed that some of these books are well over a century old. If there was ever contact with Prince Victor's kingdom there's bound to be a book in here about it."

"That's what Miss Pomfrey was telling me," she smiled at him. "I was hoping I would find something. So far the information has been minimal. But I'm going to keep searching just in case."

"Well, I hope you don't stay up too late. Dinner is almost ready. Perhaps you should put your research on hold to get cleaned up to eat. I imagine there's a lot of dust that comes with these books," he gave her shoulder a light pat. "I'm sure your father will be proud knowing that you are interested in learning the details of an soon to be ally."

"Soon to be? I thought that he and dad had come to an agreement and the alliance was struck already?"

"Yes and well, no," the steward looked uncomfortable for the moment. "Victor had added some additional requests to his end of the treaty and your father hasn't agreed upon them just yet."

She looked curious, "What additional requests?"

"You'll have to ask your father that, Sofia," he frowned. "As of right now he's not agreed upon them, so it's hard to tell whether or not he will. I don't know if it will affect the alliance or not. Victor is a smart man and has a head for negotiations." He sighed then shook his head, "I have to help finish the prep for dinner. I'll leave you here, but don't get too buried in books." He stopped to check his pocket watch, "You have about half an hour before I come to look for you."

She gave him a smile and stood, "I'll just make it easy for you, Baileywick, and go get cleaned up then head down to the table. That way you have one less thing to worry about."

He looked pleased, "Thank you, princess. I will see you in a bit then." He took the time to lead her to the door and then open it for her. They parted ways at as they got to the second floor and she went to do as she promised. While she enjoyed the smell of the old books she was, indeed, covered in dust.

Dinner was as it usually was without their visitor. Amber focused on the planning for the ball for Victor's return, her mother and father spoke quietly to one another, her father holding onto one of her mother's hands. Her mother's expression looked stormy and she had a sense that they were discussing something she didn't agree with. Worried, she picked at her dinner, trying her best to listen to her sister but unable to maintain too much attention as she watched her parents.

She had enough, remembering the book she had stashed in her room and stood. "May I be excused?"

Her father looked up at her, cast a quick glance to her mother then nodded. "Are you going to retire for the evening?"

"I have a book in my room I am itching to read," she answered with a smile.

"Alright, dear, will you be joining me for petitions tomorrow?"

"I have a magic lesson with Mister Cedric, I'd like to not miss it," she tried not to sound too hopeful, "if you don't mind?"

Her father gave her a nod, "Very well then. I suppose a hobby is a good thing for you to have. We'll see you in the morning, Sofia."

With that said, she turned to leave the dining room and make her way to her bedroom. She was half way there until, much to her surprise, her mother stopped her. The last she had seen of the woman was her at the table with her father and siblings. She didn't look winded at all, but had managed to stop her in the hallway outside of her room.

"Sofia," her mother called to her, to ensure she had been seen. "You and I need to talk."

She hovered close to her door, fearing what her mother might say, "What about, Mom?

Her mother closed the distance between them, "I was wondering how you felt about Victor."

She blinked, burrowing her brows, "How I felt about him?"

"He seemed quite taken with you, I know you've just met him and there is a large difference between your ages. But, how do you feel about him?" She took her daughter's hand and looked concerned. "What do you think about him?"

She swallowed hard, was this what Baileywick was referring to in the library? Was this the extra request he put into the treaty agreement? "He's nice, I guess. I didn't really get the opportunity to get to know him."

"Just nice?" Her sister had come up behind them, apparently Amber had followed her mother. "The man is gorgeous. He's got a body of a god and his voice makes me quiver, it's so deep. How can you describe him as 'just nice?'"

She shot a glare at her sister, "There's more to a person that just good looks and a nice voice. I... why are you asking?" She silently pleaded with her mother to not tell her that the man had wanted her.

Her mother, however, did look concerned. Perhaps, she sensed the fear in her daughter. "Your father's concerned because he seems to be taken with you. His request for you to be on his arm for the upcoming ball is something both of us were concerned about. You accepted his request, I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it?"

Was it too late to rescind her acceptance? She offered her mother a shrug, "It's just a ball. I figured it would be harmless to accompany him to it. Is there a reason I should be concerned?"

"He wants you," Amber said bluntly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Amber!" Their mother shot her a look, "That's hardly appropriate."

"Well, it's obvious he does. Anytime she entered the room she would have his full attention. And the look in his eye when he gazed at her was quite obvious. I'm surprised she didn't notice it herself," she flipped her hair over her shoulder and started to move on to her own room. "I wouldn't be surprised if his doting on you when he returns doesn't increase. Really, you should feel flattered. He's attractive and his kingdom is wealthy with all that he brought to Enchancia to trade. Why deny him?"

Her heart was hammering in her chest, because she knew all that Amber said was true. She had seen the look in his eye as he gazed at her. There was definitely a want there. He even admitted as much on one occasion. "It-it is flattering, but I don't understand why there's concern about him? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Her mother sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, "Talk with your father in the morning. I know you have magic lessons with Cedric, but I'm sure he won't mind if you're late."

She nodded uneasily then gave her mother a hug before retreating to her room. She felt on edge. She tried to read the book she had borrowed from the library but she found it difficult to focus. It well past eleven when she finally decided that she wouldn't have another night where she couldn't sleep. She picked up her robe, having already dressed for bed, and started to make her way to the sorcerer's tower.

She knocked on his door and heard a distinct curse from him. She knew he was still up, though he may on occasion rise early he was most definitely a night owl. He pulled the door open with a glare, "Do you remember that conversation about reasonable hours, princess?"

She gave him a slight smile, "I remember and I'm sorry. But I was hoping I could get another sleeping potion from you, I promise to not bother you for anything else."

Curious, he opened the door for her and went to his potion cabinet, "Finding it hard to sleep again? Something bothering you?"

"Yes, but reasonable hours, Mister Cedric. I promised to keep to them," she heard him chuckle as he plucked a vial from the cabinet and brought it to her. "I have to see father in the morning. I don't have to sit in with any of his duties, but well... I get the feeling that I'm becoming involved in the negotiations between him and Victor. So, I want to discuss it with him. I may be late for my lesson."

He raised an eyebrow, "This is why you are struggling to sleep?"

She tried to smile at him, but she found it difficult, "Yes, thank you for this. I'll see you tomorrow."

She started to turn, to go back to her room. "All of this and no hug?"

She turned to look back at him and he looked as if she insulted him, "It's after your working hours, Mister Cedric. I wouldn't want to make things awkward."

"Shut it, girl, you aren't the only one here that depends on your bloody hugs," he growled at her. She smiled and closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his middle. His arms went around her shoulders and she found it hard to not cling to him. She felt him bury his face against the crown of her hair and she relaxed against him. "The fates have damned me," he murmured against her.

"Not just you," she echoed as she held on to him.

He released her and stepped out of her embrace, "Forgive me, I didn't intend for that to happen. I... I felt like you could use it." He gave a short nod and led her to the door, "Tomorrow, I will not be too offended if you are late. This time, next time I make no promises."

"Goodnight, Mister Cedric."

"Sweet dreams, princess."

* * *

Her father was either busier than she expected him to be or he was dodging her. When she asked to speak with him in private he gave her an excuse, claiming to have a busy day ahead of him. It was frustrating, especially after the conversation with her mother and Amber the night before. It forced her to be creative.

She took up post outside his study after he had finished petitions for the day. She listened hard for any conversation going on between the King and his steward. When she was sure that he sounded as if he had a moment to speak with her, she threw open the door to his study. He was behind his desk and appeared to be enjoying a moment alone when she opened the door.

"Sofia!" He looked startled and then disgruntled, "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I was hoping you had a moment to talk before lunch," she came and sat in one of the chairs before his desk, not really giving him the opportunity to tell her no.

He grimaced, "What did you want to talk about?"

"The trade agreement and treaty you have with Victor," she smiled, perched on the edge of her seat. "I was curious as to what it involved?"

"I assuming your mother had a talk with you last night then?"

"She did," she confirmed, her stomach twisting into knots.

He sighed and rubbed at one of his temples, "He has offered ore from his land, gold and truesilver which is quite rare and hard to find in Enchancia. He's also offered up a hefty sum of Elementium, that's the ore that was used to create his armor and his armor is near impenetrable. If I can have armor similar to his created for our knights and guards there would be less possibilities of them perishing in battles. And I know we are currently at peace, but you have to think of the future, Sofia. If you're prepared for the future you're less likely to be caught off guard."

"I thought Enchancia's trade had us as a wealthy kingdom," she felt confused. Why would they need the gold or truesilver?

"Our kingdom is very much well off, Sofia. But it's like I said, gold and truesilver are not common in our area," he explained, she thought it sounded like greed was the pushing factor for him to ask for that ore.

"What else is he offering?"

He flushed and looked away from her, "He's offered casks of his alcohol reserve that the dwarves of his kingdom produce."

"Ore and alcohol? What are we offering to him in return?"

"We are going to allow him to harvest wood from the area close to that break in the mountain range you noticed. The place we intend to put the Inn and stables, we'll also be creating a reservoir so they can collect water from. Cedric will enchant it so that the reservoir will magically refill itself." He paused, looking as if he wanted to say more, but he faltered.

"He asked for more, didn't he?"

"He's also asked for your hand," he said gravely. She whimpered, she knew. She knew as soon as Amber planted the idea in her head. She leaned back into the chair and found it hard to focus on her father. "I haven't accepted, Sofia. I-I know how you feel about having a choice in the matter. Your mother is also equally against the idea, she told me last night when she asked you how you felt about him that you looked like a caged animal. But, you need to understand, this is apart of what it means to be a princess. There are times where you have to make sacrifices for your kingdom."

"What about Aunt Tilly? She wasn't forced to marry someone she didn't even know!" She snapped, forgetting her tone and her manners as she glared at her father.

"Your Aunt fought hard to dodge her suitors and I know you have the same fighting spirit your Aunt does, but I am asking you to consider it. Think long and hard about it, for the good of your kingdom," he tried to sound reasonable.

But, she wasn't hearing it. She stood, "How much gold and truesilver am I worth, dad?"

"Now, Sofia," he sounded angry.

She waved a hand, "Nevermind, now that I think about it I don't think I want to know. Thank you, King Roland. I really appreciate your concern for my future and happiness." She turned and was out of his study in a rushed breath. She heard his angry call for her to return, but she ignored it. She ran blindly, feeling the tears burn her throat and prickle behind her eyes. She didn't realize where she was going until she found herself before a familiar door.

She still had the conscious thought to knock. He opened the door and didn't get the opportunity to question her, she crashed into him and wrapped herself around him. She heard the door close and she felt his arms come around her as she sobbed against his shoulder. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't she have the one person she wanted? He was right here!

One of his hand combed through her hair and the other, rubbed her back lightly trying his best to comfort her. He didn't ask questions, it was likely he didn't have to. He probably already knew the reason to her emotional outburst. She held onto him tightly and she found his hold around her just as tight. She thought that he may love her, perhaps as much as she loved him. "The fates can be cruel," he murmured against her hair.

"It seems like," she started once her tears stopped threatening to choke her. "It seems like becoming a princess has done nothing but make me a prisoner to the fate dad decides. Did I ever have a choice in the matter or was he just humoring me as a joke?'

"That is what we are, we are doomed to follow the path our parents make for us," he pulled back just a little to look at her face. "The plans you have for yourself hold no flame to the plans they have for you. I understand your pain on some level, princess. Trust me, I do. If I had it my way, I wouldn't be trapped in this tower."

She gave him a sad smile, "If you weren't in this tower, how would I have ever met you?"

"I suppose there is some good things that come with a destiny that isn't in your own hands, though," he pressed his lips against her brow and she found herself wishing he would just kiss her. "Here we are, together, but unable to truly be together."

She sighed and leaned into his shoulder, "What do I do now?"

His hold on her tightened and his voice became rough, "Do as your father commands, it is all that you can do. We will continue to do our own research on what is to be your husband. Perhaps, we can find something that will save you from this fate." He pulled away from her, breaking her embrace to go to his work table. "Let me have your amulet and I'll enchant it," he looked sad and she felt as if her heart was truly breaking.

She released the clasp of the necklace and handed it to him, she watched as he put the jewel on his table and grabbed a mortar, it was already filled with a light emerald colored powder. It seemed to glow and she watched as he plucked up a blue bead and threw it to join the powder. He used a pestle to grind the mix into a paste. Once that was done he took up a bit of the paste on his fingers and began to rub it along the length of the chain. He continued to coat the jewel until all of the paste he had created was used. The purple jewel shined for a moment and she found herself wondering, was it aware of what they were doing to it?

"That should do it," he present the amulet back to her.

She looked at it, knowing that it was magic and the power it held. "We could use it to run away," she said suddenly, not knowing where it was coming from. "We could run away together. I wouldn't have to be a princess and you wouldn't have any duties to worry about." She looked at him, "We could be together."

He hesitated, looking as if the idea appealed to him. But, when she didn't take the jewel from him, he placed it onto her, reaching around her to secure it. "As much as I would like to do that, Sofia, you are not the type of person to run away from your problems. If you are even tempted to, then I can only assume that I am a bad influence and I have been rubbing off on you."

She frowned and sighed, "I don't know that I can concentrate on lessons today. You won't be angry with me, will you?"

"I think, under the current circumstances, it will be alright. However, I do expect you to make it up to me next week, I think I have some spells that you should learn now, given how things have taken a turn for the worse." He sat down in his chair looking mildly defeated, "I think working on some defensive spells may be in order. Though, you do need to know I'm absolute rubbish in battle."

"Are you expecting us to go into battle?"

"No," he said sourly. "I want you have means to defend yourself against that beast of a man."

She smiled at him and leaned down, placing a kiss on his brow as he had done to her, "Thank you."

"Yes, yes," he sounded agitated now, "I think you should go. I have much to do and a lot of things to think about."

She smiled weakly and went to the door, pausing to look at him. He sat in his chair, looking back at her. His expression looked torn, she had the fleeting though if she had asked him to run away with her again, that he might agree to it. But, he had been right. She wasn't the type of person to run away from her problems. She opened the door and started to wander the castle in an aimless daze.

Cedric was the only one she had left to confide in. Unfortunately, age had taken her furry confidants. Mia then Robin first, and then mostly painfully Clover. She felt horribly alone. Minimus was still alive, but he was property of Royal Prep. She knew, if she asked, her father would purchase the flying horse from the school for her and she had been tempted to bid him to do so, but she couldn't keep the plucky little horse to herself. He was a derby winner. Though, she had vowed to take the horse when he was up for retirement. She would then see him to Wildwing valley to live out his days with his brother.

The mortality of her furry friends had made her cherish those that she had left, but it had also left her feeling hard pressed to start a new friendship with any of the animals in the surrounding forest, their lives were short lived and she wasn't sure she could handle the heartbreak of losing Clover again.

Eventually, she found her way to her room and she decided it best to just take seclusion for the remainder of the day. She sat on her window seat, peering out at the beautiful day lost in the thoughts of what her future was to become when something caught her eye. The large dark colored tome sat on her bedside table, almost beckoning her to read it. She gave in and went to pick up the novel, she needed the distraction. She went back to her window seat and lost herself in the pages.

* * *

The weeks passed her by in a blind haze, she spent the majority of her time secluded to her room or pursuing the library. The book she had been reading had been interesting, it involved a man named Daval Prestor that was said to have come from beyond the Black Mountains. It described him as a man with dark pallor and a will that burned like fire. He had managed to incite a war between Rudistan and Enchancia.

She was taken back by the idea, even though the war had occurred centuries before. The war had been a claim over the territory beyond the Black Mountains, which was said to be rich in minerals and contained thick veins of gold. That knowledge gave her pause. Gold. All things seemed to revolve around it. She grimaced and continued reading, once Prestor incited the war he had simply vanished. It was believed that he went back beyond the Black Mountains where he had come. There wasn't a lot of information to him, his description was vague and it gave nothing entirely useful except his name.

She blew out a frustrated sigh and rested her head in her arms, she had days left before their visitor was returning. The knowledge that he had asked to have her hand was sickening and she wasn't looking forward to seeing him again. She recalled him saying it wasn't something she had to fear, now she would be hard pressed to not call him on his lie. She had almost exhausted all of the texts Miss Pomfrey had supplied her with and she had next to nothing learned about him or his kingdom. The only things she had was a map and a name.

She heard the library door open, "Miss Pomfrey, it is time for you to go home." The steward had come to do his duty to the librarian, she heard the old woman respond and exit the library, leaving her alone with the steward. She didn't feel like she could face him. He had known, he had been privy to it and he hadn't made any attempt to warn her. As far as she was concerned he was as guilty as her father.

"Princess Sofia," he started carefully, "Dinner is to be served soon..."

"I'll take it in my room, thank you," she still didn't have the desire to face her mother or her father. She was still torn by the temptation to flee.

She heard him sigh, but refused to pick her head up from her arms, "Please, princess, understand such things are necessary."

At that she did look up to glare at him, "Can I renounce myself as a princess then? Do you think they would allow me to go back to live in the village? Because I find that idea much more appealing." She was harsh and she could see it in his reaction.

He swallowed hard and gave her a bow, not bothering to answer her tantrum, "I will have your dinner sent to your room, princess."

She sat in the library by herself to sulk, not ready to go to her room and admit defeat or run the chance of running into any of her family members. She knew her father was still cross with her, as was likely her mother at her making such an effort to avoid all of them. The only person she had seen outside her room, besides Baileywick, was Cedric. He didn't advise her to forgive her parents. She thought perhaps he was equally disgruntled by the idea of her being awarded as a prize for the sake of gold. She hoped it was because he loved her.

With a sigh and at the rumble of her stomach, she left the library to go to her room and eat her dinner alone. Her dinner was set on the small dinette table that occupied on corner of her room, there was no addition of dessert or any of the wine that she would normally have at the dinner table with her family. It was fine, she would prefer the water she was served anyhow. She ate the roasted brussel sprouts and sauteed squash in no real hurry. She had no one to humor, but herself. She would eat at her leisure. She had almost finished when there was a knock at her door.

She stood to answer it, thinking that the steward had arrived a little early to fetch her dishes. When she opened the door she found herself wishing she had asked who was there first. Her mother stood on the other side of the door looking angry, "Sofia, I've had enough."

She stepped aside to allow her mother in, going back to her own dinner, "You weren't forced to marry dad. You had a choice in the matter, why am I denied the same kind of choice?"

"Baileywick told me what you said to him and you should be ashamed of yourself!" She stood in the doorway, looking rightfully angry. "How could you say such things? Are you completely ungrateful for the life you have led?"

"So you're saying, if we were still in the village leading our lives as we had before that having the choice to marry someone for love instead of someone to further a treaty isn't better? You can't tell me you are for me being sold off to a man that we don't even know," she couldn't help the choking noise that she made as she spoke. "You don't know what kind of man he is, he's someone that showed up on our doorstep from a random unknown kingdom! Amber and James have given their hands to someone they know, someone they've grown up with!"

"I know you're upset, Sofia, I do. I am just as upset. Trust me, I would love for you to find someone that you know and love. But, I need you to give your father a chance. Don't hold it against him and don't take for granted the life you have led because of him," She closed the distance between them and put her hands on her shoulders, leveling her a hard look. "You can be angry with him all you want, but it won't change the fact that he loves you."

"How much gold am I worth, Mom?"

Her frown deepened, "You're stubborn. Be stubborn all you want. But you will be out there tomorrow morning to greet Victor when he arrives. You will be presentable and ready to see him with a smile on your face. When it comes to the ball on Friday you will wear your best ball gown and you will be on his arm as you agreed to." She sighed heavily and turned away from her daughter. "I will try my best, Sofia, I will try my best to get your father to see the best conclusion for this situation. I am sure that he and Victor can come to an agreement that doesn't include you."

She felt a little weight come off her chest, "Yes, ma'am."

"You must at least give him a chance though," she said firmly. "I can only bend your father so much, you have to understand if it's not Victor then there will be someone else."

She looked down at the remains of her meal, suddenly losing her appetite. Her mother was right. Her mother left her with her thoughts and she found herself wondering. If she pressed him, would Cedric run away with her? He had looked tempted when she first asked. But, where would they go?

There was a tap at her door that she didn't bother to answer, the steward peered in cautiously at her. "Have you finished, Princess?" She could only nod at him, he carefully stacked the plates so he can manage them in one go and left her with the glass of water.

She never felt so trapped.

She woke up the next morning, though her sleep had been anything but fitful. She found herself growing used to functioning with less and less sleep. It didn't help her appearance, but she found that she wasn't entirely concerned by it. She dressed in her usual lavender gown, she brushed the night's worth of tossing and turning out of her hair. She cleaned her face and teeth, then managed a bare amount of makeup. She sat at her vanity staring at her reflection and wondering what of it would appeal to a stranger.

There was a tap at her door, "Princess Sofia, I'm here to make sure you are awake and dressing. Prince Victor's carriage should be arriving within the hour. Your mother and father have requested that you meet with them at the front steps to greet our visitor."

She turned to the door, he hadn't bothered to open it. Perhaps she had offended him with her complaints. It should bother her, but she felt numb. She stood, stepping into her low heeled shoes and placing her crown upon her head. This was her duty then this is what she would do. She would have to accept if her father felt it was what was right for her. It was as Cedric had said, her parents would plan her future for her. It was her duty to accept it and live with it.

She went to the door and opened it, surprising the steward, "Thank you, Baileywick."

"A-are you hungry, Princess? I could bring you some breakfast if you like," he offered, eyeing her worriedly. Perhaps he did care for her.

She gave her head a slight shake, "No thank you, I'm not really hungry. I'll wait by the front steps, so you don't have to worry about summoning me when he arrives."

He frowned slightly, "Alright. If you need anything, Princess I won't be far." With that he was off to check upon her siblings.

She made her way to the front parlor and sat down in a window seat, gazing out at the day. Her mother wanted her to give the man a chance. Her gut though, insisted there was something wrong. She couldn't place it, but there was something about him that just didn't seem right. And here he was trying to keep her close.

Know thy enemy, Cedric had said. But, she had come up empty handed. Maybe getting close to him would help her find out something. It was, after all what he and her parents wanted. Maybe, if she was patient and paid attention she could find something that would save her from the situation. Or, maybe, she was being entirely unreasonable. She would find out, the hard way of course. But, she would find out.

She watched as a black dot in the sky started to close in, she rose from her seat and wondered out the front door to the steps where they would be expected to greet their arriving guest. Her siblings came out not long after her, James taking a moment to squeeze her shoulder and Amber only offered an eye roll. Amber thought she was being childish and deep down she knew she was. Only Amber didn't understand, she grew up with the knowledge that she would be use to the fact that she wouldn't have the choice to wed the one she loved. Though, she may just love the prince she was promised to.

Her siblings stood to her right and her mother and father soon joined them on the steps to greet the visitors. Her father gave her a concerned look, looking as if he would like to speak with her, but she kept her gaze forward. She would do what she was commanded to do, but she wouldn't be happy about it. She wouldn't let them be fooled in thinking she was happy about this situation.

The black scaled carriage from before floated down gracefully from the sky, it rolled to a halt in front of them. The black stallions that pulled it snorted and hoofed at the ground. Another set of stallions rolled to a halt just behind the first, this one was covered and appeared to be filled with promised goods that their visitor brought to trade.

With a flourish, in the same armor he had arrived in, Prince Victor exited his carriage. "King Roland! It is good to see you and your lovely family again!"

"Prince Victor," her father moved to meet him and the two men clasped hands. "It is good to see you again, too! We have a lot to talk about, but I know your journey has tired you and your men out. How about we go get some lunch?"

"That sounds divine!" The other man said and they all started to venture into the castle, she felt relieved as she seemed to be ignored. "I would like to take a moment to get out of this armor if you don't mind, then I will join you and your family in the dining room?" She glanced over her shoulder, watching as they went into the castle. She then turned her attention to the men they had left to unload the carriages.

Her brows furrowed as she watch them, seemingly with no effort, take luggage from the back of the main carriage. They continued, some acting on their own as they unloaded, until they took notice of her scrutiny. There was a hiss from one to the others and they all took pause and bowed to her. They stood waiting, she assumed for her to take her leave. Their behavior seemed unnatural to her, surely the goods that they handled were heavy, but none of them had seemed to be bothered by the load they dealt with.

Swallowing hard, she offered them a curtsey and turned to follow her family. Once inside the castle, she cast a suspicious glance back out at the men dealing with the load of their master. They didn't seem to be in any hurry to get back to work as she could see. She saw them gather and speak, as if they were still aware they were still being watched.

"Princess?" The steward caught her attention, "We are about to serve lunch. Will you be joining the rest of your family?"

She looked startled and eyed the steward before nodding, she gave the men on the front step one last look before going to follow the steward to the dining room. Her family was seated and waiting on their guest, though he already claimed to be going to remove his armor. She took her usual seat next to her sister and tried to calmly wait for their lunch to begin. She tried her best to not let the anger and defeat she felt show on her face.

"It's nice to have you join us at the table, Sofia," her father said evenly. She could only offer him a respectful nod, thinking it best to bite her tongue versus saying what was on her mind. "I hope you'll consider being sociable while our guest is here. I hope you'll, also, take the time to entertain him during his visit. Your sister intends to keep me busy with the plans for the ball, I also will be contacting the surrounding kingdoms about their intentions to attend. So, Prince Victor will find himself with free time to spare unlike his last visit."

She tried not to glare at her empty plate, "If that's what you want, father."

She heard what could only be called a growl from her mother, "Sofia." She didn't get the opportunity to fuss anymore than that. The doors to the dining room opened and in came Victor. He was wearing a black coat with the gold brocade and tan trousers, he looked impressive and handsome and he seemed to offer her specifically a smile. It looked charming, but to her it only made her insides boil. It was the smile of a snake.

They sat and ate, trading bits of small talk. She listened as her father question Victor on the well being of his kingdom. The prince looked mildly irritated for a moment, "My sister took advantage of my leave, unfortunately, she and I are at odds. I wasn't quite sure I would be able to make my return at our agreed upon date due to her meddling, but things managed to work themselves out."

"Ah, sisters," Amber said as she shot her a glance, "They are a blessing, but sometimes they do manage to put a thorn into things."

Victor chuckled deeply, "You have no idea how true that is, Princess Amber." He took a moment to bite into his lunch and seemed to savor it. "You have the advantage of being in good standings with your siblings, my sister dislikes my being next in line when my father passes the crown. She would prefer to be crown princess instead."

"I don't know about good standings," Amber shot her a glare. "Though I suppose I can sympathize anytime there is disagreement between us we are fortunate to eventually work things out. Hopefully you and your sister will come to some sort of agreement." She nodded her head to the prince.

His lips turned up and there was something unreadable about his expression,"Yes, I am sure she and I will eventually come to an accord of some sort." He turned to look at her father, "Have you given the rest of my requests much thought, King Roland?"

Her father coughed and gave her mother a cautious glance before returning his gaze to the prince, "That is something we will need to talk about in private."

"Oh?" He looked momentarily concerned, even going as far to give her a look. She made sure to meet his gaze, not wanting to give him any doubt as to why the conversation would need to be private. He raised an eyebrow at her before giving a nod and looking back to her father, "When you are finished with your meal then, perhaps we could speak about it."

He looked down the table at her then stood, "Let's go to the study and discuss this." Both men stood and were out the dining room door. She glared at her plate, a light salad that she did nothing but pick at. They made no effort to disguise what they were talking about and it made her stomach turn. She wasn't going to be privy about her own future.

"May I be excused?" It was difficult to keep the bitterness from her voice.

She could hear the anger in her mother's voice when she replied, "Go ahead. But, remember our agreement. You will keep to it."

She stood up and carefully chose to use the opposite exit that the prince and her father had taken. "She didn't eat a thing," she heard her sister comment. "I don't understand how she can be so bitter over the idea of marrying such a man. He's displayed all his wears, surely she can see the advantage to marrying him."

"You need to understand, Amber," her mother sighed. "It's not that she was ignorant of what her duty is, but perhaps she did not expect someone to be so set on her, as Zandar was set on you. I think she would have much prefered someone she was familiar with."

Her mother knew her too well. She felt a little less angry with her mother, but she had other things to do. She had to know what they were discussing. She ran in the direction of her father's study, keeping out a keen eye for anyone that may spy her. Once she was at the doubled doors that led into the room she turned and pressed her back against the wall. The hallway was clear. She grasped the amulet around her neck and whispered, "I wish to be small."

She shrunk to the size of a sprite. It made it less likely for her to be seen. She went to the door and wiggled beneath the crack between the floor and the door, straining her ears so she could listen.

"I'm sorry, Prince Victor," he sighed. "I have tried my best to win her over to the idea. Sofia... Sofia can be stubborn at times."

The other man hummed lightly, "It's unfortunate, though, if you would allow me, I would at least like to try to win her over. I can understand her trepidation, I am someone she doesn't know."

"Sofia is not my daughter," her father said wearily. "I don't feel that I can force the issue because of that. If Amber weren't already promised to another, I would offer you her hand. But that agreement has already been set."

"She's not your daughter? That's curious."

"Amber and James are children I had with my first wife. She... she didn't survive their birth. I managed eight years before I met Miranda and she already had Sofia, that is why they are all the same age."

"Has Miranda protested the match?"

"She's concerned."

"Is there anything that I can do that could set both their minds at ease? Perhaps, if you would allow me to, I could court her? Perhaps I could warm her to have some affection for me?"

Her brows furrowed, he seemed awfully intent on their alliance including her hand. But why? "I'm not opposed to the idea. But, can I ask why you are so set on it?"

There was a light chuckle, "I hate to say it in such a way, but I am not getting younger. I have no children and I know most at my age have already started their families. My sister, that is part of our disagreements, she has already started a clutch of children, if you will." There was a sigh from him, "Sofia is a lovely girl. And intelligent, she has been suspicious of me since I have arrived and it has amused me to no end. Though, I suppose her suspicions were true. She is willful and that is nothing that concerns me. I'm sure you can understand the appeal of a woman with fire to her."

"I think this may a bit more than I'm willing to hear, while I can't claim her by blood and I can't force this issue with her. I still remember her as a child."

"Would you protest to my courting her?"

"I will not, if you can win her hand I will not be in the way."

"What about Miranda? Do you it would put her at ease if I made advances on her daughter?"

"We have made it clear to her that she will be your entertainment during your visit for any free time that you may have. And while I am sure there are many things that we still need to discuss, this ball we are throwing in your honor will cause me to have my hands full with the other kingdoms that will be joining us."

"That in itself sounds like a battle."

"I am sure, that even if you aren't able to win over Sofia, there will be other princesses from the kingdoms that will be present. I am sure you will not be hard pressed to find a willing match there."

There was a chuckle, "You mentioned your daughter being stubborn, Roland, I should warn you I have my own stubborn streak."

Her father laugh, "Well, I wish you luck then, Victor, because you might as well have met your match with Sofia."

She wiggled out from beneath the door and went for the corner as she heard footsteps approaching. The door swung open and the prince turned to address her father, "I am sure I will need it. If you are in need of me, Sire, I will be taking care of a few things before I make my approach on Sofia." He closed the door behind him and sighed, running his fingers through his hair. But, he paused turning to look in her direction.

She dove for a side table that sat nearby and hugged one of the legs to hide her tiny form. She watched as his nostrils flared, as if he could smell her even from here. She held her breath as she watched him scan the hallway in confusion. He stood there for a long moment and she was afraid that he wouldn't leave, she would need to breath! But, with a light shrug, he finally went on down the hallway.

She took a sharp breath and when she was sure he wasn't close by she took her amulet in hand again whispering, "I wish to be big again." She grew to her normal size and took a quiet breath, trying to sneak away from her father's study door without being noticed. She was careful to peer around corners just to certain she wasn't going to run into a certain prince. She was halfway to her room when she stopped and thought better of it.

They expected her to give him a chance. And, she had been acting childish in the fact that she would be traded off as if she herself were goods. He seemed set on her. And she had been ordered to keep him entertained. She didn't want to be in her room when he came to call upon her. Instead, she made her way back to the front parlor, deeming it to be a safe place for him to find her. She peered out the windows and found his entourage had unloaded and stored his carriage. They had made quick work of it.

"Princess Sofia," she started and looked up to meet the gaze of the dark prince. He offered her a smile, "I am told that you are to keep me entertained while your father sees to the ball that's been planned." He came to join her in the parlor, taking a seat in a chair not far from her. "I hope that it does not displease you too much to be set on such a task."

She looked away, not sure how approach him. He knew that she protested what he wanted and he had committed to her father that he could win her over. "I don't know how entertaining I will be," she said lightly, trying to remain civil.

"I am a man that is easy to please, I assure you."

"I am weary," she said lightly as she turned to look at him. "You also told me you weren't going to seek my hand as a means to seal the deal between my father and you. And, yet, here you are." She let her rage kindle, "You have made just that request to my father."

He laughed lightly, seeming delighted by her anger. "Oh, please. Forgive me, I suppose I should have been prepared for this. But, I have never seen such anger fly through a woman quite like this." He sighed and leaned back in the chair he occupied, eyeing her appreciatively. "Yes, I recall that promise I made to you. And I beg your forgiveness for going back on my word. But, I find it hard to not want you. You aren't the pliant, pleasing girl that your sister seems to be. You have fire in you and that is what truly appeals to me."

Her brows furrowed and she glared at him, "Even if I were to fight you every bit of the way? My parents haven't twisted my arm into accepting your request."

"But they have a firm grip on it I see, otherwise I am sure I would still be looking for you," he rubbed a hand through his bread, brushing his fingers along his jaw. "Fight is what I want, fight is what I am looking for in a woman to stand by my side. If you are a fighter, a fierce woman that would fight any means I make in seducing you then imagine the fight our children would have. While I imagine that would make for difficulties in raising them, I look at you. You are a well brought up girl, I have heard tales of your good deeds." He waved that hand at her, "And look at how intelligent you are. You look at me with suspicion and distrust while when your sister mooned over me." He stretched his legs out in front of himself and sent her a look, "Plus, I enjoy a challenge."

She wasn't sure if she should be flattered or not. "Would that be all that I am? A challenge?"

"Not at all," he leaned closer to her. "Are you concerned about love?"

"Shouldn't you be?"

He smiled at her, looking relaxed and calm in the quietness of the parlor. "Love. Ah, well, I won't lie and tell you that I love you. I suppose me saying that is the reason you wish to not accept the offer of marriage. Because I don't know you. Stories of your feats and seeing your beauty are all well and good, but they are not things that will cause love to develop. Interest, yes most definitely so. But not love."

"Don't you want love?"

"Do you think you could grow to love me?" He countered with a smile. "Silly question, Princess. Who doesn't want love?" His expression looked calculated and she tried hard not be distracted too much by his words. "The vast majority of relationships created by treaties and alliances are not based on love. I see several things that appeal you to me. I think, if you would offer me the opportunity, that you and I could grow to be affectionate towards one another at the very least."

She looked away from him, knowing that he spoke the truth. She found it hard to not be swayed by his words. Her father had lived that life, being married to someone out of convenience for his kingdom. Had he come to love Amber's and James' mother? Maybe she would being unfair. But, to give in and leave to marry another when the man she loved was right here made her heartache. Would she be able to get over Cedric? She didn't think so.

He must have taken her silence as consideration, for he reached over and gave her elbow a tap. "Tell me what you want from me and I will deliver everything you ask for," he looked at her evenly. "I could give you this entire world if you agreed to be my bride."

She looked hard at him, "How can you give me the world?"

His lips turned up slightly, "You would have to agree to be my bride to find out."

"You are trying to buy me?"

"I am testing the waters," he corrected. "It should be evident that you are not a woman to be bought. I'm not foolish enough to attempt to appeal to you with goods and things when you declined what I offered to your parents." He took another moment to stroke his beard, his moving hand made her wonder what it felt like that he felt the need to pet it. "I do, however, want to know what you would want from me in the event you accept."

"What is your sister's name?"

He looked at her, brows raised. "Katrana,"he offered.

"You said you were the oldest, how big of an age difference is between you two?"

"Not a large difference, just five years," he smiled suddenly. "Let us make this interesting. Quid pro quo if you will. You are a vegetarian I noticed?"

"Yes," she didn't expand upon it, she would make him be specific with his questions. "How many siblings do you have?"

He chuckled, apparently amused with her curt answer, "Could you explain why? I have one other sibling, but he is still an infant. Warren is his name."

He supplied a name, perhaps knowing her next question. "Animals," she started carefully, "I have had many pets that I've held dear. With as much as I loved them I couldn't bring myself to eat meat anymore." Some of it was the truth. She couldn't tell him her ability to understand them. She ran out of siblings to ask about. "You've mentioned your father, what is his name?"

He hesitated for a moment before nodded, "Daval." It was all that he offered and the name gave her pause. "Tell me about flying derby."

She was confused as to why she knew the name was familiar, then it hit her. The book sat in her room still on her bedside table. Daval was mentioned in the book. She tried not to look as if the name affected her. She considered his request and offered him a light smile, "I joined flying derby practice when I was eight. The princes tried really hard to discourage me from doing what they considered a 'prince thing.' After I managed to join the team they saw the advantage of having me there. I'm light and quick and my horse usually just had his own weight to pull." She paused, knowing she could go on. She shot him a look and saw him watching her with amusement. "You are here and your father is ruling your kingdom. How is your sister trying to upset you?"

"So astute," he smiled at her and it appeared warm and genuine. "My sister has quite a way with words, you could say she is trying to win my father's favor by showing him all that she has done. She has a husband that supports her and has started having children. Where here I am woefully alone and childless." He reached over to give her elbow another poke, "Tell me, is it hard to ride a flying horse?"

"You keep touching me," she frowned at him. "Riding a flying horse isn't difficult once you get the hang of it. It's all about seating yourself properly on the horse and holding on so you don't fall off, but not too tightly that you make it difficult for the horse to fly."

"Indeed I do, I wonder why I would do that?" His smile turned flirtatious. "Perhaps, it could be that I am trying to build some sort of interest between us. I'm not entirely sure on the customs of your kingdom, but I have found that when you touch someone." He leaned over to pluck up her closest hand. He held it in his, his thumb rubbing lightly at her wrist. "It helps build a connection between them. And let us just say, I would very much like to build a connection with you."

"You aren't used to being told no, are you?" She observed.

"It is very rare that someone tells me no or that I don't, in some way, get what I want," he chuckled. "I've been told no before, my sister is very apt in telling me no. Whether or not I listen to her is a different tale. But, I should point out that she is my sibling so that may not be what you are referring to. When it comes to other things, you for example being the most recent, I can be patient." His thumb continued to swirl along her skin, causing gooseflesh to raise up her arm. "Would you teach me to ride a flying horse?"

She blinked at him, eyeing him for a long moment, "If that is what you'd like to do."

He smiled at her and stood, keeping a hold on her hand. "It's something I would very much like to do. I have only ever ridden in a flying carriage. I imagine there is something to riding astride a horse as he soars through the sky. Could we do this now?"

She stood, not yet retrieving her hand from him. "I will need to change into something more appropriate for riding. I'll get Baileywick to let stablehand know we will be out there, soon. Will you be alright if I leave you here alone for a bit?"

"Do you think I need to be babysat?" He smirked lightly at her. "I will be fine. I'll entertain myself while you change. Go, go. Before I decide to throw a tantrum." He released her hand and she went to hurry to her room.

She ran into the steward on the way, pausing to inform him of what they intended to do and what she was going to do. She wouldn't leave any doubt in her parents' minds that she wasn't going to do as they bid her to do. The steward in all his glory, had her handmaid ready and waiting to assist in removing her gown. She had her riding trousers and jacket on in record time, she pulled her boots on and kept her helmet under her arm. Her crown she left on her vanity. She was actually excited by the idea of showing him how to ride a flying horse. It was all she could do to keep from running back to the front parlor.

When she reentered the room she found him gazing out the window, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you waiting so long."

He started to reply until he turned to look at her, his mouth closed and his eyebrows rose. "Trousers?" He finally questioned, eyeing her.

She smiled, finding some amusement in his expression. "They are more practical to wear when riding a flying horse. A gown may require me to ride side saddle and that's not really safe when flying. Does it bother you?"

"Not at all," he smiled at her, coming to stand beside her and offering her his arm, "I never thought I would enjoy a lady in trousers, but I see their appeal now."

She flushed and started to lead them to the stables, "Have you ridden a normal horse before?"

"I have," he supplied.

"They aren't entirely different, the way you are seated on them are a bit different. You want your legs in front of their wings so you don't go sliding off their back end when they take off," she found herself enjoying the topic. And he seemed to notice as far as she could tell because he would continue to ask questions as the walked to the stables. It was a tactic she soon realized. As he said before, he was testing the waters and he had managed to hook her. She frowned suddenly, but instead of allowing her anger to distract her she decided to keep on course.

The stable hand supplied them with two of the finest horses, a sleek white mare for her and a thick Nonius stallion for him. She carefully helped him mount the stallion, helping him secure his footing and trying her best to tell him how to keep from sliding off when the horse wheeled through the air. He listened dutifully only questioning when the horse moved. His expression was serious and he struck her as someone that was very apt at learning new things, "Are you ready to take off?"

He paused and looked at her, "If I fall off I will die. It suddenly occurred to me that this might be a means for you to get out of having to marry me. Why did I agree to this?"

She laughed, trying her best not to insult him but the tirade of questions it was too hard to not be amused. "This was your idea! And no, we are going to go over to a track. If you fall off there is padding about the track to catch you." She went to her horse and easily mounted the mare, giving her an affectionate pat, "You just have to hold on. If you keep your body low and close to the horses' it will be harder for you to fall off. C'mon. We'll trot over to the practice track and get in the air over there."

Once they got into the air he fell. He landed hard on one of the padded bags that was there for the sheer purpose of catching them. She caught his horse and flew down to check on him, "Are you alright?"

"I've bruised my ego. It doesn't help that you make it look so easy," he looked irritated and she could only smile at him.

"Once you fall off you're supposed to get back on," she slid off her horse and helped him remount the stallion. "You'll get it. You just have to keep trying."

He eyed her from up on his steed, "You are a good teacher, Sofia." At some point they had dropped titles. "Well, wait, I'll hold that judgment if you can successfully teach me to ride this horse without falling off." He gave her a smirk.

She was back on her own horse as soon as she had him settled, "Miracles do happen."

They were off again. He fell another two times, cursing each time. The last time she hesitated, tying her own horse off. She helped him remount his horse, knowing he was indeed losing his cool. "Here, I'll help you this way," she mounted the horse too, settling uncomfortably close to him. "Grab on to the reins, too, and we'll get going," He did as she bade him too, wrapping his arms about her waist and pressing into her back. She swallowed hard and directed the horse to take off.

They were up in the air and she used the opportunity to show him how to maintain balance on the horse and keep a grip on the saddle with his thighs. They soared around the track quickly and she started to bring them down to land until his hand shifted to her hip, "Must this end so quickly? Can we not go explore the landscape from above?"

She hesitated, she had grown hungry after ignoring her last two meals. But, she decided to humor him. They drifted up high above the castle, the wind whipping past them. They were able to see the vastness of Enchancia and she felt suddenly free, despite the man trying to win her over was behind her.

He had taken advantage of their closeness as well, she could feel his breath against her cheek and he would occasionally press his nose into her hair. His hands had wandered her form, though they hadn't touched her inappropriately. She should be on edge. "This is beautiful," he murmured against her ear, the deepness of his voice so close made her shiver. He chuckled when he felt it, "You have honored me greatly by showing me this."

She turned her head slightly to see him, "Are you ready to go back?"

"Would I tempt fate too much if I bid you to keep us here? Having you so close is something I've enjoy greatly," his smile was flirtatious. Her stomach clenched and then growled, she didn't think he could have noticed but it did pull a chuckle from him, "Well, food is a necessity I didn't consider. You can return us to your home, Sofia, so we can feed you properly."

She wheeled the horse around and headed back to the castle, trying to not allow his closeness to get her. He didn't press her, his hands remaining on her hips. They landed just outside the stables, she slid off the saddle before he could protest. He looked momentarily irritated, but he carefully shifted on the saddle and slid down to the ground himself. "The mare is over at the practice track," she told the stable hand, "I'm really sorry I left her there."

The stable hand smiled brightly at her, "Don't worry about it, Princess. I will go fetch her. I'm sure she is enjoying the grass over there."

"Thank you," she smiled in return and turned back to her company. "Would you like to take tea in the garden?"

His apparent irritation seemed to be soothed and he looked pleasant once again, "That sounds lovely. I am hoping you aren't intending to change again. I think your current state of dress is quite becoming."

"I didn't intend to change, at least not until time for dinner," she gave him an awkward smile. "Would you want to give riding on the flying horse on your own again?"

"I do believe my ego has been bruised enough today, perhaps another day when I am feeling more willing to take a beating," he offered her his arm, "Where do you intend for us to have tea at?"

She took his arm, feeling that she didn't as apprehensive as she did before about being on his arm, "There is a gazebo that is surrounded by flowers. I'm not sure how you feel about flowers, but they are lovely and it's a nice spot for tea."

"Flowers are fine, though I don't expect them to distract me from my company," he smiled. Once she had them at the gazebo she bid that he wait there so she could request tea from the kitchen. She came back to find him admiring the flowers. "Tea service will be brought to us soon, they're just brewing the tea."

"That sounds fine, though with the way your stomach was rumbling I wonder if you can last much longer," he smirked at her picking up a violet pansy and offering it to her. "For the lady that enjoys purple."

She took the flower and flushed, "I snuck a cookie or two while I was in the kitchen." She paused to offer him a cloth wrapped cookie, "In the event you were hungry I thought I ought to bring you one, too."

He looked pleased and came to stand beside her, taking her offering. "How kind of you," he unbundled the cookie and immediately broke it in half, offering her one. "I appreciate the offering, but I would enjoy sharing with you," she took the proffered half and found herself touched. He was winning her over, she thought with a wince. He seemed to be watching her, for after he eaten the confection he asked, "Everything alright?"

She grimaced, was she so easy to read? She went to the gazebo and he followed, "You have a way with people." She sat down and nibbled on the half of cookie he had given her. "I guess I was a little disturbed by how you've managed to win me over so quickly."

"Win you over?" He sat next to her, "Have I won you over completely, I wonder? I think, perhaps, it's from seeing me fall off a horse one too many times."

She couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up from her, she covered her mouth and shook her head. "Don't start setting a wedding date. I guess I'm enjoying myself more than I thought I would."

"All I ask and all I continue to ask is that you give me the chance, Sofia. I've made you comfortable in a way. I am sure, if you give me the opportunity," he smiled at her. "We could come to an agreement of sorts."

There conversation halted when the steward came with a tea service, "Princess Sofia, Prince Victor, it's good to see you two enjoying one another's company." He sat the tray onto the table that occupied the gazebo. "Can I get anything else for you two?"

"I think this will be it, Baileywick," she smiled at him, hoping that he would forgive her unreasonable attitude from the following week. "Thank you for bringing it out to us."

He smiled in return, offering them both a bow, "It was my pleasure."

They sipped tea and nibbled cookies, exchanging questions as they had in the parlor. "So you were sent here to create a trade agreement for lumber and water?"

"Yes," he was sitting close to her, the gazebo only offered bench seating. "Unfortunately, the few trees offered in my land are not entirely sturdy enough for building. We took note, as we traveled over your land that the trees were thick and your forests are lush. We would find it easier to build and expand settlements. Stone is a sturdy building material but after looking at rock for so long it can become drab. Not only that," he paused to sip his tea. "Wood is also used for several other things. The majority of my land is desert so water is an important commodity." He gave her a look, "Answers in exchange for answers, princess. What other hobbies keep you entertained besides flying horses?"

"Magic," she answered with a sad smile, "Our sorcerer is humoring me with private lessons, sorcery was also taught at school." She turned to face him, watching him as she considered her next question, "Why did your father send you to negotiate trade? Why not have an ambassador or another noble to do it?"

"Personally," he answered frown, he looked like he might have asked the same question. "I think this is a test. I'm not quite sure. Your father seemed all to willing to do trade with me, so I suppose I have passed the test." He smiled at her, "How versed are you in magic?"

"I am doing well, I think. When I graduated from Royal Prep I was taking advance magic classes, Mister Cedric helped me when I struggled. For the most part with his lessons, he gets me to help with his potion backlog and then helps me work on my conjuring and control." She found herself smiling at the mention of her sorcerer again. She raised an eyebrow at him, "Was I apart of the trade agreement set by your father?"

He laughed out loud at that, "I am caught! No," he chuckled at her. "No, my father did not send me out here to find a bride. You were an unexpected bonus that I could not resist." He set his teacup aside, apparently finished, "I still find myself hard pressed to resist." He leaned close to her, closing the distance between them. His lips brushed her cheek and he asked, his voice low. "What can I do to get you to stop resisting me?"

She shuddered, the deepness of his voice touching her in an unexpected way. She started to turn away from him, but he caught her chin with one hand. "I... I don't know," any other protest she might have had was silenced when he pressed his lips to hers. His lips were soft, as if he took specific care of them as he did with his beard. The whiskers tickled, but it wasn't unpleasant. She didn't return his kisses, but she didn't push him away either. His kisses were, for the most part, chaste though she was sure he was trying to tempt her when she felt his tongue sweep along her bottom lip. This was a man who knew how to kiss and how to create a distraction purely with his mouth.

A throat cleared and she quickly pulled away from Victor. She turned to see her father, his arms crossed over his chest and a knowing look in his eye.

* * *

Next bit will include the mentioned ball.


	4. Chapter 4

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: HO THERE! Mature content is in this chapter! And yea, this story is rated M so if you are uncomfortable with mature content then MAN did you pick the wrong story to read. Somehow in my envisioning the male character in this story he has given himself the reputation (with me) of being a bit of a horndog and I have to satisfy that (sadly i can't do that myself so I give the female lead as sacrifice!). While sex is not actually in this chapter there is adult situations that are like... right there. It's not full on sex, but it's dealing with the anatomy of it. So yea, kinda sex but not really. Rambling, sorry. You've been warned!

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy."

So, I'm trying to put as much as I can in each chapter to make the story I guess to paint a picture of the situation Sofia is in. I don't want to split it up into smaller chapters because I want each chapter to revolve around a bigger event so that is why they're longer than any of my other works. And yea, it takes me a bit longer to finish the chapters because I'm trying to tie in one event to another and all that happens in between. Be patient.

* * *

A throat cleared and she quickly pulled away from Victor. She turned to see her father, his arms crossed over his chest and a knowing look in his eye.

She felt as if she was caught doing something she shouldn't have, even though it was Victor that had initiated the kiss. She had enjoyed it, the feel of him close to her, his scent and even the ticklish hairs from his beard. But seeing her father there, having full view of what had had happened had her stomach twisting in a knot. He didn't looked phased by it.

"Victor," her father started, "I was hoping I could take a moment of your time?"

"Of course, Roland," he looked back to Sofia. "I suppose I shall have to find you again later. At dinner?"

She gave a shaky nod and watched as he stood and went to join her father. They clasped hands and she had the sickening feeling as if her father was congratulating him. She was a conquest now, though he meant to keep her. Had he seen her father coming? She hadn't been aware of just how long he had kissed her. She had been so distracted the feeling he had created in her. She wasn't even aware of what the feelings were.

"Princess Sofia?" She looked up to see the steward standing before her. "Are you alright?"

She looked at him, not at all sure if she was alright or not. She struggled, "I... I don't know."

"Did he force you?" The older man came to sat next to her. "Did he hurt you?"

She felt dazed, but she shook her head, "I wasn't expecting it. But he didn't force it. He is forward," she looked down at her hands. She took a shuddered breath, "I don't stand a chance at all, do I?"

The steward looked worried and suddenly, he engulfed her in a hug. "I am so sorry you have to go through this, princess. I know it's a lot to ask of you and I hope, I hope you won't hold it against your parents."

She sniffled, "You're not angry with me?"

"No," he pulled back from her. "I know you well enough to know when you're worried or scared of something, your heart is usually in the right place. I know you were angry when you said those things to me, as does your parents." He looked remorseful, "I know this is overwhelming, I know you weren't prepared for it. But you are a strong girl, you can manage this and you can create great things from a bad situation. Remember that."

She nodded and gave him a watery smile, he stood and straightened up the tea service before picking it up and taking it into the castle. She sat in the gazebo by herself for a time, before realizing. If they were going back to discuss things she was likely the topic they were going to discuss. She shouldn't be ignorant of the situation. She stood up and hurried inside, they would probably be in her father's study.

She carefully went through the hallways, trying to make sure she didn't appear to be running or in a hurry. When she got to the hallway that her father's study occupied, she made sure it was empty. The majority of the maids were busy cleaning the ballroom, but there was also the rest of the castle to maintain. Fortunately, this hallway appeared to already have been cleaned.

She took her amulet in her hand and whispered, "I wish to be small." She shrank again to the size of a sprite. She went to the door and started to squeeze herself under it, the fact that she was still wearing her riding gear made it easier. She didn't have petticoats to wrestle with.

She managed to get to where she could peer up at them, though she couldn't see a lot. Her father was behind his desk, all she could see was the top of his head and the occasional wave of his hand. Victor, at the moment, was pouring himself a drink. "Well, I suppose I should give you some credit," her father started. "I didn't expect you to be able to win her over."

"Oh, I am still working on it," Victor smiled from his position at the bar. "She is very much a stubborn girl. Though, when I do find myself in trouble with her, I move the subject to something she enjoys. Though," he grimaced as he came to join her father at the desk, offering him a tumbler. "I wish you would have warned me about the flying horses. I'm sure to be sore for a few days."

Her father chuckled, "She got you on a flying horse?"

"I made the mistake of asking her to teach me, and she is a capable teacher. She has patience that I didn't expect with the cold shoulder she gave me at my last visit. She didn't belittle me or anything each time I fell off the horse, just encouragement," he sat down, seeming puzzled. "How did you manage such a girl?"

"I can't take all the credit, Miranda has done well with raising all the children. Sofia has always had a kind heart, even with her stubborn streak," her father murmured. "Honestly, this is the first time I've ever had her angry with me." He sighed, "Or shown me any sort of disrespect. I wasn't sure what to do with her."

"I think the error is my fault, Roland," the other man said. "I suppose if I made a better effort with her on my first visit, things would not be as they are. I apologize for not thinking of anyone, but myself in the situation. I hadn't considered her upbringing or her origins."

"But, you aren't deterred at all?"

"Not at all, if anything her origins may be the reason for her patience and good nature. Perhaps the reason for her fire, too," he hummed lightly.

"I do have a request, Victor," her father started. "While I am for you try win her over, I need you to please save any serious advances until after your wedding night."

"Oh," there was a chuckle from him. "I know you may have caught us in something of a compromising position, Roland, but I assure you. I would not do something like that until after I've secured her as my bride."

Her father sighed, she thought in relief, "I'm glad you understand. Now, let's talk real business here. How deep do you think the reservoir will need to be?" It was then that she started to pull herself from beneath the door. She started down the hallway, before forgetting that she was still small. She gave a cautious look around and picked up the amulet again, "I wish to be big again."

Once she was at her normal height, she decided to retire to her room and go ahead and prepare herself for dinner. She cleaned herself, first, scrubbing the sweat from her face and beneath her hair and any other places. She removed her riding gear and went into her closet to find an appropriate gown. She decided on her favorite lavender gown, the one with the pearled accents. She dressed and went to apply some makeup, not a lot, but just enough to even out her skin tone. Finished, she sat and gazed at herself in the mirror of her vanity.

She was fighting a losing battle. There was no way, no matter how hard she resisted, that she would be able to keep Victor from his goal. She looked down at her hands. Did she really think she had a chance? At least he seemed to be making an effort to get to know her, to settle her fears. But there was still something, something that didn't seem right that she couldn't grasp.

Daval. She stood up and went to fetch the book at her bedside table. She almost forgot about that. She had to get to Cedric and tell him. Maybe he had an idea. She fled her room and hurried to the tower of her favorite sorcerer. She tapped on the door and waited patiently for him to answer.

The door open and the sorcerer peered out at her, he gave a cautious glance behind her before moving out of the way and allowing her in. "Princess," he said wearily, eyeing her. "What brings you here today? You don't have lessons."

She looked down, slightly unnerved by his formal attitude. "I've found something." She looked back up at him, seeing curiosity. "It's not a lot, but it's something." She offered him the book and he took it, eyeing the title and then started leafing through it, "Daval Prestor is mentioned in it."

"This is concerning the war between Enchancia and Rudistan, Sofia, that was well over two centuries ago."

"Victor said today his father's name was Daval," she was holding on still to the find. "That can't be a coincidence."

"But the last name was Prestor and you said his name was Nefarius," he went to his chair to sit, seeming to find a passage of interest.

"But they're both from beyond the Black Mountains. Maybe they are relatives. And it says in there that Prestor was the cause of the war," she argued. She shuddered then, "The war started because a princess that was promised to Enchancia from Rudistan, but Rudistan backed out and promised the princess to Prestor."

He looked at her, raising an eyebrow, "But you haven't been promised to anyone before Victor arrived here. Do you think he is really trying to start a war? And if he were, with whom would he have us go to war with?"

She grimaced not thinking about that, she went to sit on her stool and sighed, "I don't know."

"It sounds as if you are grasping at straws," he pointed out.

She shrugged, "Has your mother found anything out?"

"Hm, we could ask. It has been some time since I last talked with her," he stood and went to the portrait of his parents. "Mummy?" He waited there a moment, when he didn't get a response he cleared his throat and tapped a fist against the picture frame, "Mother!"

The picture rippled, like water in a pond, and Winifred the Wise peered through the portrait at her son, "Ceddykins, darling, what are you doing? You are lucky I wasn't busy after all the things you've give me to do." She spied Sofia sitting at his worktable and she slid from the painting. "Princess Sofia, deary," she elderly women walked to her and gave her a motherly hug. "I've heard what your father has charged you to do, I am sorry. It's most unfortunate." She gave her son a look.

He looked uncomfortable, "Mother that is not what I called you here for."

"Oh, well, of course not," the woman pulled away from Sofia and sat in her son's chair, eyeing the girl. "What have you called me for?"

"Did you find anything from the other sorcerers and sorceresses from Mystic Meadows?"

"About Nefarius?" The woman shook her head, "The name is telling, I'm surprised King Roland is allowing this. But, no. No one is familiar with it or the kingdom Nigrum."

"She found a name Daval, the man said it was his father's name," he raised a book up to show his mother. "And she seems to have found a name Daval Prestor in this book, the man was connected with the war between Enchancia and Rudistan."

"That was so long ago," his mother comment. "But, names can be passed down the family line. King Roland is the second of his name for example. It is a good catch princess, though I have to ask. What is it that you are looking for?" She looked at the her with a curious look, "Are you trying to give your parents a reason for you not to be betrothed to him?"

She frowned uneasily, not entirely comfortable confiding her ill ease with them. "There is something about him that doesn't feel right. Like, he's not what he seems to be. But I can't put my finger on it. I thought maybe if I did research on him and his kingdom maybe I could figure out what it was. At first I thought he was using magic to sway dad into wanting to accept his goods and request for alliance. But," she looked to her sorcerer, "I guess I was wrong."

"But your instinct still tells you that something is wrong about this man?"

She nodded, "He is persuasive, I guess naturally. He's promised dad a vein of gold and truesilver for my hand. It was enough for dad to ask me to consider it, though, I get the feeling that my feelings aren't really up being considered." She didn't want to tell them about being caught by her father while Victor had kissed her.

Cedric's mother took her hand and patted it in an attempt to comfort her, "It will be alright, deary, I will ask about Daval."

"Is Mister Morshak still with us?"

"Old Morshak will probably outlive us all, he had claimed to have found the cure for death," she chuckled lightly. "But I think I see what you are getting at. He could consult the spirits of the nether world for more answers."

She smiled lightly at her, "Thank you, Missus Winifred. You have no idea what this means to me."

"Oh dear Princess Sofia!" She wrapped her in a hug. "This isn't just for you, darling, but I'm sure you know this," she whispered in her ear. "Was there anything else that you two needed me for?"

"The chore I set you on, Mummy?"

She winked at him and went back to the portrait, "It will be ready when you need it, Ceddykins. I must be off, you two be well." And with that and a whisk of her wand, she stepped back into the painting.

Once it was just the two of them again, he looked at her, "Was that all you wanted? You may have found a foothold, but I am sure this is not enough information to take to your father. He's not likely to drop the arrangement purely on a name."

She looked away from him, knowing he was right. "Right now, I don't know that there's anything I could do that would make dad reconsider. I wouldn't be surprised if he was writing victor a receipt now to settle his purchase."

"I know you are angry, but I can't say I have ever heard you sound so bitter. For all our trouble that we go through looking for something foul on this man he could really be your prince charming," she shot a look at him. "Perhaps you need to let go of this and just accept it, Sofia."

"You're telling me to give up?"

"What other choice do you have?"

"You called him a beast of a man!" She tried not to be angry with him, but she found herself failing. "Now you're telling me to just accept him."

"I said he was a beast of a man, look at him he's three times my size! Even if there was something off about him, I have no hope of measuring up to him in any sort of combat means, he would squash me like a bug under his boot," he whimpered, because it was likely true. "I told you I was rubbish when it comes to combat," he came to take his chair back, sitting heavily in it. "All I can offer you is a means to protect yourself in the event you are caught with him trying to presume too much from you. Which reminds me," he pulled one of his spare wands from the cup on his table and offered it to her. "Keep it on you. At all times. You might also want to consider magicing a pocket into your clothing so you have a spot to keep it in." He opened one sleeve to show her the wand that was hid up it.

She took the proffered wand and pulled it close to her chest, her anger with him banished. "I will be back for my magic lessons next week. May I have a sleeping potion or two?"

"Are you sure you want to leave yourself vulnerable while he is still here?"

"I don't know if I will be able to sleep any other way," she confided.

"Alright," he got up to fetch them, coming back with two vials, "Do not take them on an empty stomach or both at the same time. They won't harm you, but they will make you sleep longer than you intended."

"Thank you, Mister Cedric," she stood and started towards the door. "I better get ready for dinner," with that she was out the door with her hands and her mind full. She left the book with Cedric, though it hadn't been on purpose she wasn't entirely concerned with it. She had a day before ball was to take place and she had find a means to face what was to come from that. She went to her room, placing the vials in her bedside table and looked at the wand he had given her.

She was apt enough at magic that she could probably magic herself a means of escaping. But that would be running away. She couldn't run from her problems, they would just get bigger if she did. With a sigh she went to the vanity, looking at her gown to see if she could find a good place to magic a pocket into the fabric. Then she paused and then waved the wand carefully at the skirt, just at her hip. The fabric separated and opened, not by a lot. She stuck her fingers into the opening to make sure that it was indeed a pocket. Then she placed the purple wood instrument into her newly fashioned pocket. It didn't appear to be obvious.

There was a knock at her door gaining her attention. She had lost track of time, she went to answer and was relieved to see the steward at her door. "Good evening, princess. It's almost time for dinner, I'm just here to make sure you were ready."

She smiled at him, "I'm ready, I'll go ahead and head down to the table."

He smiled at her in return, perhaps relieved that she was no longer sulking. "Thank you, Princess. I'm going to see if I can find your siblings to inform them as well."

She stepped out of her room and moved to go down stairs as the steward went on the hunt for Amber and James. There was something about having a wand at hand that made her feel a bit more comfortable. She wasn't as trained or knowledgeable in magic as Cedric was, but the idea was that she wasn't completely unprotected from Victor's advances made her feel more comfortable.

She entered the dining room to find it occupied by her father and Victor, they were speaking lowly but from what she could tell her father was trying to educate the other man about the kingdoms that would be in attendance at the ball. When they took notice of her both men stood, "Sofia, I'm glad to see that you have decided to join us at the table."

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Princess," Victor said shortly after, giving her a slight bow.

She felt her cheeks grow warm and she gave them both a curtsy. "Baileywick, told me it was almost time for dinner. I thought I would save him the trouble of having to remind me," she took her seat and watched as the other men did as well. "You two are discussing the ball?"

"Yes," Victor answered, eyeing her with some appreciation. "He is giving me a run down about each kingdom that Enchancia is currently with trade agreements and the goods that they trade with them. I suppose, in the event that those kingdoms would like to create agreements while I am here."

"Well, at least talk about it. A ball isn't all work, there is supposed to be some fun to it," her father commented. "I wouldn't want to take away any chances of you dancing or enjoying yourself," he said with a chuckle, he gave Sofia a smile and a wink as if he thought what he saw in the garden was something.

She grimaced and suddenly wished she had waited to come to the table. She had hardly eaten anything today, the cookies at tea weren't going to hold her over. She put her hands into her lap and waited, patiently as she tried to ignore the telling conversation, "How long do you intend to stay this time, Victor?"

"I will be leaving on Sunday, I was sure to allow an appropriate amount of time for the ball and recovery from it," he leaned back in his chair as he looked across the table at her. "My return is still up for discussion."

She raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Assuming that the other parts of our agreement are still set, within a week or two we will begin construction on the Inn and stables as you suggested and the reservoir. I will have my people begin harvesting lumber immediately so there will be a good area cleared for construction. Then the Inn can be declared to both our kingdoms and any that is wanting to display wears there can bring them. I have a man hired to do the management of Inn and he will see to it being manned appropriately." He looked to her father, "These are things that will take work so it is likely that I will be away from Enchancia for sometime. However," he looked back to her. "If you are to accept my final request, the subject of my return could be up for debate. I would return sooner if you requested it."

"It's only been a day," she tried to argue. Surely he didn't expect her to accept after a day they spent together.

"Yes," he offered her a smile. "Kingdoms aren't built in a day, and I'm aware of this. But, surely you see the reason for the pressing for your acceptance?"

"Sofia," her father interjected, "Be reasonable. I know there is attraction there, I have seen it. There aren't many rulers that can say that they were as lucky."

She remembered his words from before, 'I could give you the entire world.' She looked hard at him, "Are the trade for the truesilver and gold still in negotiations?"

He blinked at her then cast a glance at her father, "Their inclusion into the trade agreement was on the provision that you would exception that you were going to agree to be my bride. In the event you decline then I'm sure there would be other things that King Roland would include on his end for the gold and truesilver. Perhaps a farm or two? The idea wasn't entirely discussed upon, though I suppose there is the appeal to them."

"Are you in need of vegetables and fruits?"

"I would be if a certain princess would accept my hand," he shot back at her.

"If a farm was built at the area the Inn and reservoir are intended to go, what could you offer for its inclusion?

He looked momentarily curious, "Does this mean you are accepting?"

"That is not what I asked," she smiled tightly at him.

He smiled and leaned onto the table, looking as if he would like to close the distance between them, "Fresh fruits and vegetables are as high a commodity as water is, while your father has expressed interest in the gold veins and the truesilver veins in exchange for them. For truesilver, I would have to ensure that more than one vein is available, the ore itself is hard to find even in my kingdom."

"Did you make an offer of it without knowing you could commit to it?" She sounded harsh and while she didn't intend to, he didn't seem to be disturbed by it.

If anything it seemed to excite him, "That would be irresponsible of me, princess."

"You don't have more than one vein to offer?"

"It is what I am sure of, I currently have it being mined to have it available in the event my offer was accepted," he chuckled. "If there is more that is found then I would offer it in exchange for the food."

"What about the gold?"

"The gold is not entirely a similar situation, if you would accept the gold over the truesilver than I have that to offer," he shot her father a look, raising an eyebrow.

She glanced at her father, seeing him watch the exchange with a mixture of awe and amusement, "Would gold be a worthy currency for a farm to be added to the land?"

He started to nod then held up a hand, "Who would man it?"

"You could get Mister Cedric to magically produce the produce, as he's done for the village a number of times," she offered. "Though there would be people that would need to maintain it and harvest it when it was time," she looked back to Victor. "I'm assuming if you are going to have your man, man the Inn you would also one of your people to see to the farm."

He grimaced at that, "It was an idea I was considering, however the land isn't entirely fit for farming most vegetables. They manage some, potatoes and barley and maybe a few other things for them to concoct their alcohols, but I am not aware if they are well versed in farming other things."

"If we find someone to man and care for the farm that is from Enchancia it will cost you more," she said evenly.

He didn't seemed to enjoy that idea, shifting back in his chair, "You are driving a hard bargain, princess."

"Be reasonable," she said in turn, "We will be taking people from their current homes and moving them to an unpopulated area. All that surrounds that area is woods, so they will have to contend with the wildlife as well as maintenance of the farm for you and your people. These people will need to be compensated for the move and the hard work they put in."

He turned to look at her father, "It's hard to face her when she's right."

Her father only chuckled, "Her mother is the same way and I have a similar problem. Had I known she was this good I would have had her in there when you first arrived. I could have probably gotten more out of you."

Victor cleared his throat and leveled a hard look at her, the handsome prince no longer but a tough man trying to get his way. "All this is agreed upon, name your price in gold and I will supply it. However, Sofia, the one question you have not answered is whether or not you have agreed to be my bride. This is a term that I will press especially with my departure looming close by. Tell me, do you accept my offer? Will you be my wife?"

He was trying to strong arm her, she gave her father a fleeting look and found that he, too, was looking at her questioningly. "I have conditions," she finally said.

The prince smiled, "Tell me."

"You will allow me to maintain contact with my family, at least a monthly visit with them," she said, meeting his gaze with a glare. "I will not budge on it. Any time you try to forbid me from seeing them I will see it as a breach of our agreement."

"I don't intend to cage you," he answered, looking mildly surprised. "A monthly visit with your family is more than reasonable. I will include holidays and birthdays as additional visits, though, I am not familiar with all the holidays that Enchancia celebrates. I expect you to educate me, anything else?"

She took a breath and struggled to collect her thoughts, she was going to agree with it. She was going to accept him. With a breath she started again, "You will not raise your hand against me in violence. If you strike me at all, I will consider it a breach of our agreement and return to Enchancia."

He looked mildly insulted, but he didn't voice a complaint, "It goes without saying, princess. I will not raise my hand to you in violence. Are there any other conditions?"

She looked away, trying to find something else. There had to be something else that was important. "I will add to them," her father said carefully, "In private." She blinked and looked up, seeing her mother hovering at the door.

"Am I to assume, after the conditions are completely said, that you have accepted?"

Keeping her eyes on her mother, she nodded. She felt a shudder run through her and she turned to look at the man that was to be her husband, "I accept if you are going to agree to the conditions my father and I have set out."

"This is something to announce at the ball!" Her sister squealed as she pushed past her mother and came to sit next to her. "I knew you would finally come to your senses, Sofia!"

Her mother trailed after her sister and sat at the head of the table, next to her father. She didn't look happy, but she didn't protest. Her eyes stayed on Sofia and it was clear, she would be talking to her as soon as she was able.

James filed in not long after, not hearing the news of her engagement. He sat between their mother and Amber, looking curious as to the sudden tension at the table. "What's going on?"

Amber turned to him in delight, "Sofia accepted Victor's offer! She's engaged!"

"Whoa," he looked across the table at the prince in question and offered him a nod, "Congratulations!" Then dinner was brought and set before them, steward stood just behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder to squeeze it, as he announced the main course. He knew how she felt, she looked down at her plate and wonder what she had gotten herself into.

The rest of dinner was a blur, her sister talking excitedly and a conversation between Victor and her parents that she didn't entirely hear. She ate, because she was hungry. But, she wasn't aware of the taste of anything she put in her mouth. She drunk wine with her dinner, perhaps too much, trying to help soothe her nerves.

She felt as if she had made a deal with the devil. She looked up to meet the gaze of what was now her fiance. She hadn't entirely ruled out that he wasn't a devil.

When her father and Victor finished their meals they stood to retire to his study, she assumed to discuss the rest of their agreement. Once they left the room her mother finally spoke, "Are you sure about this, Sofia?"

"I don't really have a choice," she spoke gravely. "I know you tried to make it out like did, I know dad tried to make it out like the decision wasn't already made, but." She swallowed hard, "But, it's already done."

"You're both talking like this is a terrible thing,"Amber said with a huff. "I think you both over looking a lot of advantages we have at our hands. The rest of the world is just now learning of Victor's existence and his kingdom, with Sofia marrying him Enchancia will have first say and anything that his kingdom may have to offer. This is a move that makes Enchancia more powerful, you both should be grateful that he decided he wanted Sofia."

"Amber," her mother hissed at her.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that and you know it," she turned to look at Sofia. "What I meant was, with the way you reacted to him initially he should have been insulted. You snuffed him and ignored him the entire time he was first here. Really you should be ashamed of yourself for that fact and be grateful that despite all of it, he wants you to be his bride still."

"You're right," she said evenly as she went to stand. "I don't expect you to understand why I acted the way I did, but I understand what you are saying." She looked to her mother, "May I be excused?"

"Are you going to your room? Her mother asked.

"No," she decided she would rather be firm. "I want to find out what they are planning." With that she went out the way they had and headed for her father's study.

She gave the door a hard knock and it wasn't long before the door opened. She expected Victor, but the steward opened the door instead, "Prince Sofia? Did you need something? Your father and Victor are having a discussion right now."

"They are talking about my future, Baileywick, I should be able to have at least some say in it," she didn't know if she could go back to her room to sit while they made the decisions for her. "Please?"

The steward stood back and opened the door so she could see her father and Victor seated by his desk, "Your Highness, Princess Sofia has asked to join you."

"Yes," Victor stood and came to the door, stepping past the steward to grab her hand. "Come, Princess, Join us in the celebration." He took her hand and pulled it close to him, and it became apparent that both of the men had been drinking.

She hazarded a look at the steward and he could only look at her helplessly. Victor sat, though he kept a firm hold on her hand. She sat in the chair beside his, after moving it to be a bit closer. "What were the additional conditions that you added, Dad?"

"Well," her father looked slightly uncomfortable. "Sofia, I see you are strictly business. I've only made a few additional conditions to the agreement. The first that I saw as the most important, is that you are not to," he paused to cough, "have any sort of… intimate relations until after you have taken your vows. In the event either of you have a change of heart, I want your virtue to stay in tack, Sofia."

She didn't feel phased by the condition, though she had remained chaste there were a few princesses that graduated from Royal Prep without their virtue. Her father didn't need to know which ones. "Any others?"

"Mostly political conditions, really," Victor said as he nursed his tumbler. "That in the event of a war that Nigrum will pledge assistance to Enchancia and offer to her any sort of military edge that she might have. And in the event Nigrum is to go to war with any kingdom, you are to return to Enchancia so that you remain safe. Both of which are reasonable requests." He eyed her, "Was there any requests that you would like to add?"

Freedom? She couldn't add it, both men might find it insulting. "Actually, I want to know your expectations from me," she gave him a hard look.

He met her gaze for a long moment, before casting a cautious look to her father. "I want a child," he said evenly. "It would be something I would intend that we work upon as soon as our vows are exchanged. Well, as soon as is reasonable after the wedding party. I am not the ruler of the kingdom, so I would have no duties for you to commit to. Though, I suppose to keep you entertained I could think of things that you are to do." He offered an uneasy shrug. He hadn't considered what he wanted from her outside of children.

Her father seemed to notice this, too, "Wives are more than just producers of children. I'm sure you are aware of this. While as a princess, Sofia has helped me quite a bit since I realized she had such a head for leadership. Not only that, the companionship her mother has given me is probably what has kept me sane in the hardest times. Though," he paused. "I do have to admit she hasn't been helping with this situation."

The prince gazed at her for a long moment, before nodding, "I see I have some things to consider, though." He offered her a smile that seemed genuine, "I think having a close companion is something I have been in need of."

"Well," her father sighed and then stood. "I am going to go find my wife and see if I can show her my appreciation. Remember," he looked hard at the prince. "Not until after the wedding." With that he started to walk out of the study.

The steward looked at the two of them before going to follow the king, "I'll locate the Queen for you, sire, perhaps you should go ahead and retire to the royal suite."

It left the two of them alone and Victor, though he still toyed with her hand, had looked away from her and out into space as he seemed to be lost in thought. "You hadn't considered much past sex?"

He choked slightly and looked shocked that she asked such a question, "I'm sorry, I was not prepared for such a question." He released her hand and stood wandering over to the bar to pour himself a drink. "I will admit, sexual attraction is one of the things that drew me to you. I am, if it is not apparent, eager for the opportunity to lay with you, Princess. But," he paused to take a sip of his drink.. "I hadn't considered the other benefits of marriage, which is a complete oversight on my part."

"Are you a virgin?"

He chuckled, "No. I don't know about expectations of chastity here, but there is no such expectations in my kingdom. It is good to experiment." He came back to sit beside her, taking up her hand again. He seemed to enjoy holding it, "Are you a virgin?"

She flushed, not expecting the question to be thrown back at her,"Yes."

"There is no shame in it, you are young. And I am guessing it is something you parents encouraged you to hold on to?" She nodded, eyeing him. He seemed to radiate temptation now. His thumb rubbing along her skin in nonsensical patterns. "Have you experimented at all?"

She shook her head, "Chaste kisses at most."

There was something about the way he looked at her now, he raised an eyebrow, "Would you care to experiment?"

"But…" Her brows drew together in confusion.

He stood, drawing her to her feet with a light tug of her hand. He sat the tumbler aside and then pulled her flush against him. She swallowed hard, she could feel part of him pressed intimately to her. While she wasn't experienced she knew well enough what it was. His free hand reached around and boldly cupped her rump and with little effort, hefted her up so that their hips were pressed together. He rolled his hips into hers and she couldn't help but gasp. "I could do things to you," his voice as a deep rumble by her ear. "That would make your toes curl, I could make you forget your deity's name with just my tongue," as if to show this, his tongue curls along the shell of her ear then pulled the lobe between his lips. She became dizzy and clung to him, unsure how he was evoking these feelings in her but unable to protest. His mouth worked down to her jaw and she felt his chest rumble in a growl, she felt it between her legs and she involuntarily clenched her thighs together. "Let me," he whispered lowly against her skin, "And I could show you pleasures without taking your virtue. I could show you what it feels like to be in heaven," with that his mouth trailed up to claim her mouth.

His tongue swept between her lips and curled about her own, stroking in a fashion that could only be construed as sexual. He dropped her hand and curled his fist into her hair, tilting her head back so he could deepen the kiss. She held onto his shoulders, overwhelmed as she had been before in the garden, but feeling so much more.

His tongue withdrew from her mouth and his lips pulled away just enough for her to catch her breath, "Would… Would you be able to stop once you started?" She managed to gather enough thought to ask, "Could you do those things knowing, you wouldn't be getting sex out of it?"

"Eventually, you will be mine," he said simply, though she could see the burning in his eyes and feel the pressure of his excitement pressed against her lower stomach. "If touching you, tasting you, making you writhe and moan will assist in winning you over I would do so without complaint," he caught her bottom lip between his and sucked lightly on it, the feeling alone made her squirm and throb. "I have your interest," he murmured. "I can smell your want, let me taste you."

Her heart hammered in her chest and she found it hard to breath, somehow only managing to pant, "I've agreed to be your bride. Is that not enough?"

"Do you not want to garner some enjoyment from the situation?" He removed his hand from her hair, found her knee and pulled it up to his hip, he rocked his hips forward between her thighs now and she felt him, even through all her damned petticoats. She gasped shakily and before she could utter even a protest he captured her mouth again in another heated kiss. When he pulled his mouth from hers again, he pressed it to her ear, his voice was so low and seductive. "If you will allow me," he began, the hand holding her knee drifted down along her thigh then around to press up between them, cupping her heated sex beneath her bloomers. "I would kiss you here, now," his tongue traced her ear again and she was shuddering as his fingers began to trace her through the undergarment. "Let me taste you," he purred, his fingers curled around the fabric brushing along her heated skin and she couldn't produce thought.

His fingers parted her lower lips and traced skillfully along her opening, his thumb finding the bundle of nerves at the top of her sex and began swirling atop it. His index finger brushed back and forth against her opening making her rise involuntarily and press against his hand. The teasing finger pressed into her just a bit, giving her a taste of what it was like to have something inside of her and withdrew. She made a noise she didn't recognize and her hips rolled seeking for more. He pressed his finger fully into her and she gasped, her inner muscles clenching around the digit and squeezing.

She felt him hiss against her ear and then his mouth distracted her by latching onto her neck. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, the need to hold onto something hitting her as she began to writhe in his hand. He pressed a second finger into her and her breath caught, but she couldn't protest. Did she ever have a chance to protest? Her hips rocked and she whimpered as his thrusting fingers and stroking thumb began to push her beyond care.

It seemed to take him little effort to work this flame within her and she felt as if she was so close to burning up. He was drawing her taunt and she felt as though she might break, then the fingers within her curled and she released a sobbing breath. She shuddered and melted against him, barely managing to hold on so she didn't tumble from his grasp. It was as if all her nerve endings suddenly disconnected then reconnected and she was disoriented.

She felt him remove his fingers from her and her inner muscles clenched hard, as if they missed the intrusion. His fingers stroked her nether lips lazily and he nuzzled her throat and kissed her shoulder, "I can do so much more, if you let me."

She was left gasping still, her knee dropping off his hip, "That," her breath hitched. Should she feel ashamed that she let him do that to her? She should be angry, he slowly released her so that she stood on her feet. Her thighs trembled and she had to remain leaning against him as she struggled to reconnect with herself. "That was more than enough," she managed at last.

He pulled his hand from her bloomers and looked down at her with unconcealed lust, "Do not think this sates me." She met his gaze and tried her best to not be frightened or excited by it. When he brought his fingers to his lips and sucked them into his mouth her knees buckled. A growl vibrated through his chest and thus through her, she found herself squeezing her thighs together again. "I will find an opportunity to get a better taste of you," he purred at her when he pulled his fingers from his mouth. "How much effort do you think it will take for me to get you to scream?"

She finally managed to pull away from him and stand on her own, though unsteadily. "I-I am not prepared to find out," she swallowed again, suddenly finding her mouth dry. "T-this was not appropriate. Not in my father's study."

He raised an eyebrow, smirking at her and he seemed to exude sexual appeal. She suddenly didn't doubt he could deliver on all he promised as he touched her, "I could escort you to your room."

"No," her voice shook again. She didn't know if she could fight him off, or if she would be able to deny him if he started to touch her or kiss her again. "No, thank you. I… I should be going," she stepped away from him, feeling the dampness gather between her legs. She unsteadily made her way to the door, feeling his eyes burning into her. When she looked back at him, she had the overwhelming fear that he would pounce her.

"You will still keep me company tomorrow, won't you?" He asked, his voice didn't loose its beckoning tone.

"Yes," she whimpered. "But, I won't allow you to do this to me again."

"Oh? He smiled at her, as if she hadn't just denied him. "How about next time I use more than just my fingers, hm?" He licked his lips and her breath caught. "Good night, Princess," she backed out of the room and once she closed the door, she turned to run to her room. She still trembled, but she couldn't determine why.

Was it fear? Or excitement?

* * *

Though what he had done to her made her sluggish and warm in places she wasn't prepared to consider, she had struggled to sleep. She waited too late to down one of the sleeping potions she had gotten from the sorcerer. She wasn't aware of how late it was until there was a persistent knocking at her door. She sat up, sleep still clinging to her and rose. She gathered up her robe and wrapped it around herself, then sleepily went to the door. When she opened it, she was confronted with the concerned expression of the castle steward.

"Princess, are you alright? You missed breakfast," he looked at her worriedly. "It's not like you to sleep in. You're not feeling ill are you?"

She shook her head then yawned broadly behind a hand, "I haven't been sleeping well. I'm sorry."

The steward looked uneasily down the hall then back to her, "Prince Victor has been waiting on you. Are you able to dress? Should I fetch Violet?"

She looked at him, "Is it that late?"

"It is nearly time for lunch," he informed her with a frown.

"Oh no! I didn't mean to sleep that late," the last bit of sleep drained away. "How am I supposed to keep Victor entertained and get prepared for the ball?"

"Perhaps he will be satisfied with sharing lunch with you," the steward stepped away. "Clean yourself up, I will fetch Violet so you can quickly get dressed. Then I'll inform Prince Victor of what has happened. I'm sure he will be understanding." With that the steward stepped away and slid her door closed, off to do as he said.

She groaned and went to her basin, pouring water in it so she could wash the sleep away. He better be understanding, he was the reason she had problems sleeping. She rubbed her face a little harder the usual to scrub away the sleep. She then brushed her teeth as quickly as she could, trying to get the staleness from her mouth. By the time she was patting her face dry her handmaid tapped on the door then opened it to peer in at her, "Are you ready to dress, Princess?"

She felt bad, knowing that Violet was busy, "Yes, I'm sorry to be dragging you behind. I really shouldn't have slept so late."

The older woman smiled and went to her closet, "Don't you worry your head, Princess! It's somethin' of a relief to come help you after all the decoratin' and scrubbin' Baileywick and Princess Amber has us doin'." She sighed as she looked into her closet, "Have you decided what you would like to wear today? Have you thought about what you will be wearin' tonight on the arm of your handsome prince?"

She hesitated at the closet door, unsure. "Mom wanted me to wear my finest gown. I guess," she went to the elaborately embroidered gown and pulled it from the rack. "I guess this? It was something they gave me last Wassalia. I hadn't had the opportunity to wear it yet."

"Oh," her handmaid, eyed the gown with appreciation. "It is beautiful, you will definitely look gorgeous in it. I will lay this on your bed for later while you pick out what you want to wear for now." She pursued her wardrobe before she came across a light and comfortable gown that she would wear. It's neck was cut high and the sleeves went to her elbow. The thought that if more of her was covered that it might act as a deterrent for the prince's affections. Her handmaid made quick work of getting her into her corset and the gown and once she was dressed, the older woman went the extra mile in taming her hair. "I can pull it up for the ball if you like? Perhaps twist it up?"

She considered it, but shook her head, "I appreciate the offer. But I think I'll just wear it down." She turned to smile at her, "Thank you for helping me dress and get ready for the day, I'm so sorry I stayed in bed for so long."

Violet only smiled at her in return, "It is always a pleasure to assist you, lovely. Now, come. Your prince was waiting for you out in the hall when I got here. I think we've made him wait long enough."

She swallowed, "He's waiting out in the hall?"

"You look frightened, are you alright?"

"No, I'm fine, I just... I just didn't expect him to wait outside my door," she stood from her vanity, deciding against make up for the moment and walked with her handmaid to her door. Violet opened the door and left it ajar for her. She peered out it to see him leaning against the wall to the left of her door. "What are you doing?"

"I am waiting on my princess," he said easily, his voice filled with amusement. "I was told she slept in. Are you well?"

She cleared her throat, "I am fine. I just didn't sleep well."

He offered her his arm and she stepped out of her room, sliding the door closed, "Really? Usually, and don't think harshly of me when I say this, when you have a," he smiled like a devil at her, "completion as you did that it would make it easier for you to sleep. Unless of course," he paused for affect. "It made you crave more?"

She flushed and walked with him, unsure as to where he was leading her but naturally following. "No, if anything it was something that shouldn't have happened."

He frowned, "It's a pity you would say that. I suppose me asking to join you in your room would be something that also shouldn't happen." He sighed as he led them outside onto one of the balconies, "I suppose I will have to seek wholesome entertainment until it is time for the festivities."

The sun was shining and there was a pleasant breeze, he brought them to the edge of the balcony that overlooked the maze, "Have you been to a ball before?"

"I have not," he confided. "I assume it is another word for an overly fancy party?"

She chuckled this time as she took in the beauty of the day, "That's pretty much it. Do you know how to waltz?"

"Waltz?"

"It's a dance," she looked at him. "Do you know how to dance?"

He frowned as he gazed back at her, "Will I be expected to dance?"

She gave him a slight smile, there was something enduring about having to teach him things. She stepped away from him, "What else would you do at a ball?" She offered her hand to him, "It's easy, I promise. I'll show you."

"Easy like riding a flying horse is easy? I don't think my ego can take more bruising from your teaching," he almost pouted, but he took her hand and stepped closer to her. "And I would expect there to be food and alcohol at a ball. Those are two things that I would most definitely do."

She took his hand and placed it on her hip, he smiled already seeming to like the placement, she took his other hand and raised it into the air then rest her other against his shoulder. "Normally, you would lead, but until you get the hang of it I'll lead." She had his full attention and without a song they started to move, "Watch my feet." He gathered the fabric of her gown at her hip and shifted it up so that he could get a better view of her feet. She stepped back and he followed, to the side and she started counting out the steps, "One, two, three. One, two, three." She turned them and they continued, "This might have been easier to do with music."

He kept moving with her as they went through the steps, a look of concentration on his face, "Perhaps. I can't say that I'm not enjoying myself." He halted their movements and kept ahold of her. "I do intend to test this waltz tonight. I expect you to be a willing partner," he smiled at her. "After all you already agreed to company me to it."

She started to let them go, since they had stopped, but he kept a firm grip on her hand and her hip. "I was also charged with keeping you entertained," she nodded.

"Your father intends to announce our engagement at this ball," he told her evenly. "I hope that will not unnerve you?"

She frowned and looked down, "I guess I should have expected that." He sounded concerned for her and she looked back up at him, "Does it bother you that I might be upset by it?"

"Only mildly," he said as he started to get them moving again, somewhat awkwardly. "Though I understand on some level that this is not a choice you have made for yourself. I apologize for not taking your wants into consideration and thinking purely of myself."

"But you aren't sorry enough to cancel the engagement or rescind the request for my hand?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Unfortunately, not," he tried to offer her a bemused smile but it turned into something of a frown. "I find that I have been missing something for quite some time, doing all my work for my father without another to assist or even just offer emotional support of a friend. The day that you gave me yesterday was very pleasant, even if I ended up in a heap on more than one occasion. I look forward to other things you could educate me on," he stepped on her foot. She grimaced and he immediately stopped, "Dancing, I suppose you will have to lead us tonight." He looked apologetic.

"It's alright," she went to the bench and sat, he followed closely behind. "I didn't really know how to dance when I first became a princess. Sometimes it takes a little while to get the hang of it. I don't think anyone will be judging you on your dancing skills."

"Hm, well I hope not," he looked back over at the maze again. "What are some other things that you enjoy, Sofia?"

"I like magic," she said simply as the started up this game again. "What do you enjoy?"

He eyed her for a moment and turned to face the direction of the maze, seeming trying to map it out and solve it from above. "I told you before that I enjoy puzzles and the like, I also enjoy science." He started to rub his bread as he gazed at the maze, "You like magic? Like card tricks or real magic?"

"Science?," she felt intrigued. "What is it that you do scientifically speaking?" She looked towards the tower where her sorcerer lived. "Real magic, though card tricks and the like can be amusing they aren't the same as real magic. Being able to conjure things, change one thing into another."

"Science, it is a broad word I know. I like experimenting as I told you last night," he shot her a flirtatious grin. "In the subject of science I like to take things apart and put them back together. See what happens when you add this to that, magic is a lot like science. In fact, there is quite a bit of magic involved in some of my experiments." He smiled at her, now it seemed genuine, "Something in common I think. What about you?"

She couldn't help but smile in return, looking over her shoulder at the maze, "You are wanting to go through the maze again?"

"Are you willing to get lost in the maze with me? I will admit that I would be hard pressed to keep my hands to myself," he chuckled. "When you left me last night it took quite a bit of strength to not follow you to your room."

She took a breath, "It would be inappropriate to do that now. After lunch it won't be long until we will need to prepare for the ball. You would probably end up making us both late." She hoped offering him such an excuse would keep him from pushing the condition her father made.

"Ah, I think it a good reason to be late though if there ever was a reason," he sighed and looked disappointed. "Oh well, perhaps another time. Hm, it appears that lunch will be soon."

Curious, she looked towards the castle and saw the steward approaching them, "How did you know? You're still looking at the maze."

"I heard him coming," he looked at her then stood as the steward approached.

"Princess Sofia, Prince Victor, lunch has been prepared in the dining room if you would like to join the King and Queen," he said with a bow.

She stood, "Thank you, Baileywick."

"I have a request of you," Victor said suddenly. "Could Sofia be placed to be seated next to me?"

The steward looked perplexed, but nodded, "I will have that done by the time you arrive to be seated."

"Very good," Victor sounded pleased and turned to her, offering his arm. "I hope that doesn't bother you."

She stood and wrapped hand around his bicep. He led them into the castle at a slow pace towards the dining room, she assumed it was because he underestimated the speed with which the castle steward could move. But, she let him lead them nonetheless. "Something tells me, since you requested my seat be changed, that I am stuck," she tried to keep a playful lit to her voice, but the truth of it hurt.

"Don't sound so disappointed," he said, giving her a glance. "But, yes. Your father's fear of me leaving you once I've had my way with you was misplaced. Having you once would not be enough."

She sighed though their banter had made her relax in his presence, "I guess it could be worse."

He paused to open the dining room door for her, "Indeed, but I think we are both finding out that it could also be better." He led her into the dining room, seeing her family already at the table. He brought her to his side of the table, pulling her seat out and waiting as she sat down.

The chivalry wasn't lost to her, she felt flustered as she sat down. She was so used to the manners of the steward, who was like family, that she didn't really know how to react when a man that held interest in her was polite. She looked across the table as he scooted her chair closer to the table and saw her mother's expression. She looked grieved, James looked perplexed and Amber just looked overjoyed. Her father didn't seem to mind the change in seating arrangements, he went so far as to Victor's shoulder a pat. He thought it was a battle won by the other man.

She met her mother's gaze, she seemed to be looking for any hint of unhappiness. Was there anything that could be done about it? Victor knew her origins and still wanted her. She tried to give the older woman a reassuring smile, but it was strained.

Lunch went on without a hitch though, mostly taken up by Amber's on goings about the excitement of having a ball. She was sure to fill Victor in on anything he didn't know about it. He had asked a question, one specifically about whether he would be speaking to visiting Royals or if he would be able to occupy his time with her. Amber, distracted by the fact that he wanted to spend time with Sofia, nearly squealed with delight as she began her tirade.

"Well," she finally paused in her ramblings, "I think it's perhaps time to begin beautifying ourselves for the ball, don't you think Sofia?"

"Beautifying yourself? How much more radiant can you become?" Victor asked, to the delight of her sister. He turned to her, "Are you going to use this as a means to escape, then?"

She laughed uneasily at his choice of words, "I wouldn't get far even if I tried. Besides, this is one of those things that princess live for." She put additional stress on the word 'live' hoping he would pick up her sarcasm.

He raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued,"Really? This appears to be one of those things we will need to discuss afterwards." He smirked lightly, "How long will it be before you grace me with your presence once again?"

She could only shrug, "It depends on how long they decide to torture me. An hour?" She looked to her father, "Are you going to be needing Victor for anything?"

"Actually," her father smiled at her. "He and I, and your mother when she is ready, could be out front to greet our visitors for the ball. So, once you three are dressed and ready you could join us there."

She stood, putting a hand on his shoulder, "That will keep you entertained, won't it?"

"I think it sounds quite like torture, also," he quipped back to her, much to her father's amusement.

"When I am done I will be out on the front balcony, that way you can find me easily in the event they decide to take mercy on you," with that she went around the table and to the door, finding her sister and her mother not far behind her.

Her mother took her arm and her sister stood beside her as they made the way upstairs, "He's not hurt you has he?" There was worry in her mother's voice, "Your banter may be amusing, but I still see you despite what you try to hide."

"Mother, I think you are worrying too much," Amber interjected. "He kissed her in the garden the other day, I saw it. She didn't pull away and slap him, like I expected."

Her mother looked at her, "He kissed you?"

She looked ahead, not sure she could tell her mother the other things he had done to her, "This is what's expected of me. You told me to give him a chance. I did. I realized the importance of my duty to my kingdom so Enchancia and flourish in the world."

"It's the duty of all Royal children, mother," Amber echoed beside her. "We marry to further the interests of our kingdom." She didn't sound entirely happy about it, glancing at her she saw a forlorn look on her face. "The chance that we may fall for the person we are betrothed it is a nice idea, but love is never the concern of our parents when they make the deal."

"Amber," her mother sounded remorseful. She sighed and leaned in close to Sofia, making them halt in the hallway. On a whim, she wrapped her arm around Amber's waist and brought her in close. "I'm sorry," their mother said brokenly. "If I could change this, for you both I would. I tried so hard to get him to let you pick to whom you want to marry. But he wouldn't budge."

"Mother," Amber wrapped her arm around her shoulders, "I appreciate your efforts, as I'm sure Sofia does as well. But, I grew up knowing that choice wouldn't be something I had. I care about Zandar," she confided in them both. "I'm sure in time I will grow to love him, just as Sofia will grow to love Victor. Resisting will only make you resentful of him. Zandar didn't have a choice in the matter either, he's been gracious and trying his best to be understanding as he courts me."

Her mother grimaced, "Victor has asked for a short engagement. He wishes to be married to you as soon as he can be." She looked at Amber, "Zandar's family is still wanting your wedding to be after the holiday they celebrate."

Amber bit her lip, but shrugged, "I can't pressure him. He's told me it's something his parents are very adamant about. It's alright." She sighed as she looked to Sofia, "I won't be angry if you marry before I do."

She smiled weakly in return, "Thank you."

Amber pulled away and forced them all to start walking again, "You will have to let me plan your wedding though."

She smiled and could only nod, "I would trust anyone else with it."

"Good," she forged ahead of them. "Let me know when the date is set and I will begin making the plans." With that she whisked her way into her own room, leaving her and their mother outside her own room.

Now that they were alone her mother looked at her, "Your father told me the conditions that he and Victor agreed upon. He sounds reasonable, but I know that you were distrustful of him in the beginning. I'm sure we could push back a wedding for as long as we need to. He has a lot of work ahead of him with the physical things that he has asked for from Enchancia."

"But, pushing it back won't keep it from happening. You told me to give him the chance. I did," she looked hard at her. "We both know that I couldn't have declined, Mom. Dad would have pressured me to accept." She looked down, "This is my duty if I'm a princess. This is what I have to do."

Her mother hugged her tightly, "I'm sorry. I didn't think. I didn't know this was what would happen. I just wanted us to be happy and he's brought us both a lot of happiness."

She leaned into her mother's embrace, "Don't be sorry for marrying Dad. He's given us so much." She pulled away, moving to open her bedroom door, "It's like Amber said. I'll grow to care for him. Maybe even love him." She sighed, "We have a ball to prepare for, it'll be okay mom."

"I love you," her mother answered, seeming miserable.

"I love you, too," she turned to enter the room and closed the door. This situation was difficult, as it had been from the start. Her questioning her for accepting seemed silly. She forced the issue of giving him a chance, why would she question it when she accepted?

Her handmaid stood at her bed, working hard to prepare the gown for her to wear and seemed to be paying extra attention with the petticoats. "Princess, are you ready to get dressed?"

She sighed and nodded, walking into the room and turning so the other woman could help her with the buttons. Really, getting ready for an event never took her long. Her handmaid was quick and efficient when it came to tightening and cinching her corset, her deft fingers worked buttons into place. The gown was a lovely deep shade of lavender with a cream underlay. Pearls and beads were sewn into the ruffles and along the hips, when the light hit them it made the gown shimmer just a little. The straps were off the shoulder and did nothing for her modesty as it exposed her upper chest and a healthy dose of cleavage.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she realized that if Victor hadn't come when he did this gown was a means to catch an eye of another man, prince or duke. Her father would have seen to her hand being promised to another before her next birthday. She sat down carefully at her vanity and Violet came behind her to fuss with her hair. She curled it slightly, working with the natural wave of her hair, but pinned just a bit of it back with a pearl clip. "Is there a particular tiara you would like to wear?"

She shook her head, gazing at herself in the mirror, "I guess something that matches the rest of me. But I don't have one in particular that I'd like to wear." She powdered her face lightly and with a grimace, powdered her collar and shoulders. Her handmaid brought a delicate looking silver tiara out with purple stones to match her amulet. She sat it lightly on the crown of her head.

"Would you like me to help with your makeup?"

She smiled at her, "No thank you, I wasn't planning on wearing a lot. If you want to sneak away and take a break I will say that you stayed and helped me." The older woman laughed and thanked her before leaving the room, she took her time painting her face. She usually went with the minimal amount of makeup when it came to anything. Amber enjoyed painting herself up to look magnificent. Personally, she preferred to only do small additions, it wasn't that she didn't think she needed the makeup, but it was more along the lines of not presenting herself as something she wasn't. So she put just a little bit of color on her eyelids and only a bit kohl around them, then a bit of rouge to color her lips.

Satisfied with her appearance, she stood and went to the front balcony, as she had promised. She sat on the bench that had occupied before and considered the maze down below. She could be kind and stand to greet their visitors at his side, like a dutiful fiance, but having the moment alone to contemplate the sharp turn her life had taken was nice. However, it made her heartache when she gazed at the tower of her sorcerer.

There wouldn't be a chance to be with him, to let him know just how she felt despite all his snark and sarcasm. She wouldn't know what it was like to kiss him, to touch him. She felt her cheeks heat as she thought of last night, to have him do those things to her. She had ached for him so long and now she would be forced to give up all those desires.

The wind swept through her hair as she traced the paths of the maze to the center, trying to occupy her mind. What would she do once she was wed? She would be leaving this all behind. Her friends and her family. She wasn't prepared.

A noise from behind her alerted her that she was no longer alone, she turned and saw the prince she had been promised to. He had changed since she last saw him. He wore fitted breeches and polished knee high boots. His jacket was black with the gold brocade of like the other, but it was more ornate with gold lines between each button. He stood back behind her, watching her with a measure of curiosity. His expression appeared carefully blank, as if he could sense her melancholy thoughts.

"You are a vision," he offered quietly.

She smiled weakly and looked back at the maze, "You escaped?"

"It was a hard fought escape," he approached her slowly, as if she might try to run off. "A lot of hand shaking and introductions, not really where I would prefer to be. But it is an unfortunate necessity." He sat next to her and followed the direction of her gaze, "Are you still trying to figure out an escape of your own?"

She frowned slightly, not bothering to look at him, "You've already told me that I was stuck with you. I'm not sure I could escape."

"I did," he answered and she felt his hand skim lightly over the exposed skin of her back. "I would like to try my best to make light of the situation I caused. Is there any way I could, you would tell me wouldn't you?"

"You've already won my hand," she looked at him. "Why are you still making an effort to win me over?"

"I found you out here and you looked utterly miserable," he then shrugged slightly. "I am not really sure why, but it struck a cord. I thought if I made an effort to make you comfortable around me that it may help. But, while I see you getting more comfortable with me I still see this misery clinging to you."

She smiled weakly, "I guess it's an effort I should be grateful for."

"Can I banish it?" He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her shoulder, "Is there anything I can do to take away the melancholy?"

Her throat tightened and she could feel the warmth of his body, that hovered so close to her. She couldn't tell him what she wanted. "Are you trying to make me care for you? Or are you trying to appear you care for me?" It was harsh and while it gave him pause, he didn't seem to be affected.

"It isn't necessary, it is an ideal if we are to spend the rest of our days together," he raised an eyebrow then. "Do you love another?"

She shook her head, "It doesn't matter with my hand given to you."

He looked as if he had more to say, but their conversation was interrupted. "Princess Sofia, Prince Victor," the steward didn't seem surprised to see them so close together, "The festivities are ready to begin, when you decide to join us would you like me to announce the two of you together?"

"That will be fine," he said and stood, looked back to her. He offered her his arm, "This could be much worse than it is, princess. I assure you." She looked at him again then stood, taking his arm and began to lead him to the ballroom. "I have taken liberties with you," he said lowly so only she would here. "I invite you to feel free to reciprocate, if the feeling ever strikes you."

She nodded, though she wasn't sure if she would be. But, she felt grateful that he would offer her to do the same. The doors opened to the ballroom and the steward's voice rang out. "I present you Prince Victor Nefarius of Nigrum and Princess Sofia the First of Enchancia." He bowed and she curtseyed for those in attendance.

They managed a dance, it was much better than the practice they had had out on the balcony earlier in the day. She had led for the majority of it, but he made a clear effort to keep from stepping on her feet. He didn't seem at all uncomfortable with her taking the lead and she felt somewhat comforted by the light smile he wore and how relaxed he appeared to be. Her father came to interrupt them, beckoning Victor over to meet the Emperor and Empress of Wei-ling.

It gave her time to pursue the banquet of delicious foods set out. She piled a plate full of vegetables, fruits, and cheese and went to hide along the wall, spying her father and Victor as they were surrounded by a crowd of visiting Royals. Her father seemed to be doing the majority of the talking.

"You... you look beautiful."

She turned to see the speaker and flushed, seeing her sorcerer close by. He had kept a distance between them, perhaps to make it appear that they weren't conversing or, maybe he was put off by the idea of being too close to her after seeing her dance with Victor, "Thank you."

"He seems less menacing without his armor," he offered. "Perhaps the awful picture you've painted of him is merely fear of the situation."

"That gut feeling I have, hasn't gone away," she confided as she looked at what was to be her husband. "He's been trying really hard to put me at ease and win me over. The only thing he's not done, yet, is shower me with gifts."

"You're to be married to him," he sounded sour about the idea. "Of course he is trying to put you at ease. There is nothing appealing about the idea of marrying someone that hates you or fears you." He sighed angrily, "Mother hasn't found anything as of yet on your lead."

"Did she talk to Mister Morshak?"

"She said he hasn't done the séance, yet. He's waiting on a full moon, something about it giving him access to the ancient dead or some rubbish," he shrugged as if the idea in itself was 'rubbish.'

"Are you telling me to give up?"

"This is a wild goose chase," he looked to her then. "I know why you are doing this and I sympathize."

"I think you've forgotten Miss Nettle," she tried not to get her feelings hurt with him. "Or should I say Sascha?"

"I had hopes that you would have forgotten about that," he sighed.

She started to say more, trying her best to not be angry with him, but her father started to tap a spoon upon his glass gaining the attention of the entire crown. "Ladies and gentlemen, while this ball is being held to introduce you to Prince Victor and hopefully welcome him into our fold I do have a bit of exciting news to also announce." He cleared his throat and cast Victor a knowing smile. She could feel the bottom of her stomach drop. They were going to announce this here and now? "I am honored to announce the engagement of my youngest daughter, Princess Sofia, to Prince Victor." The room broke out into applause. "Sofia, come have a dance with your prince!"

There was something about having it announced to a crowd of people she knew that made it seem more real. She was dimly aware of stepping through the crowd onto the dance floor. Victor soon joined her and swept her away. Music played and she could feel all eyes upon her as they danced, Victor leading with a surety that he hadn't had before. Was she dreaming? It seemed like a mild nightmare.

Rose petals began to rain down from the ceiling and she looked, finding her sorcerer in the crowd and knowing he was responsible. He watched them, his expression grieved and she could feel her heart twist up in her chest. Her throat burned with tears that she had to keep at bay, she looked up at her fiancé and tried to spare him a smile.

All she could do was pray the night would end quickly.

Everything seemed to blur after that, champagne was pulled out from the wine cellar and everyone entertained a glass. She may have entertained too many glasses. She accepted congratulations from her former classmates, she could have sworn there was a hint of jealousy that rolled around Hildegarde as she came to give her congratulations. Curious.

She couldn't hold onto much that went around her, for the vast majority of the time she was smile and thank all those that approached and be swept away when Victor pleaded for a dance. "I think, perhaps," he said at a length to a king she had a hard time recognizing. "It is time that my princess retires for the evening. I hope, if you will not be here in the morning that when I return to further business matters with Enchancia that you and I can speak more on the matter."

He was then leading her away from the ball, it had been winding down anyway. She spotted James still milling about with his friends and Amber on the arm of Zandar, but her mother was nowhere to be seen. Her father appeared to be surrounded by other kings sharing in toasts and the like, while others had already began to leave for their respective carriages.

She had no idea what the time was. But, she allowed him to lead her to her room.

It shouldn't have surprised her when he turned to her for a kiss. The surprise, really, was her willingness for to accept. Maybe the alcohol had gone to her head. Maybe there was a thrill to the way his tongue slid past her lips and stroked her own. He pressed her against the wall, one hand at her hip and the other in her hair. She didn't resist the beckoning, the pull, or the desire that flared in her.

Her arms slid around his neck and her fingers went into his hair. It was thick, but silky and she tangled her fingers in it as she started to follow his lead and return his kiss. He made a noise, a growl, that reverberated deep in her core. He released her hip and reached over to slide her door open, then he began to turn them much as he had done on the dance floor. He back them into her room and with little effort closed her door.

She clung to him, knowing him coming into her room wasn't the best of ideas. But fire kindled within her and he had made promises. She didn't protest when she felt his hands working the trail of buttons loose down her back. Her dress came loose and he helped it drift down her arms and into a heap around her feet. She stood clad in her petticoats, stockings, bloomers, and corset. She didn't hesitate until his hands started to make short work on the laces of her petticoats, pushing them down her hips to join the pile surrounding her ankles.

She stepped backwards, nearly falling, but he caught her. "Trying to escape?" His voice a deep rumble.

"We can't-!"

""Shh," he shushed her, helping her step out of the mountain of dress and petticoats. "We aren't going to. Remember, experimentation? Unless you object?" He was giving her that look again, as if he would eat her.

"Dad said," she started.

"Your virtue will stay safe," he pulled her close and pressed his lips to her ear. "Let me worship you." Inhibitions went with the wind and she pulled away from him, turning and walked to the bed. She took a moment to pull her heels off and stood to look at him. He followed closely, pausing to undo the buttons of his jacket and then shed it. She saw a glimpse of a light linen jerkin beneath before he tugged it up and over his head.

He was a vision of muscle and bronze skin, her breath hitched in her throat and any thoughts of protesting now was lost. He was beautiful. He cupped her cheek and captured her lips again, giving only a pause to say, "Touch me." He kissed her again and she found her hands in his hair again.

He didn't give her much time to adjust to his affection and lack of dress now, he picked her up and placed her over the edge of the bed. He leaned over her, kissing her with a passion that kindled her own. His mouth trailed down to her throat and she used the opportunity to map out the feel of his shoulders. Muscles seemed to twitch beneath her fingers, she had never touched a man before. Feeling the strength beneath his skin was intriguing. She would want to see him, but he scraped his teeth against the pounding vein and her neck and it distracted her. His tongue traced down her shoulder to her collar bone and his teeth curled along it. She would have never imagined being bitten would make her breathless.

One of his hands cupped her breast through the corset and it was, unfortunately, too thick for her feel anything more than the heat of his palm. It didn't keep him from giving the flesh a squeeze, as if he realized that the garment was hindering his exploitation of her flesh. He didn't bother to remove it, she wasn't sure if she would have protested. Though, when she felt his thumbs hook the waistband of her bloomers she did still. "You said," she panted. "You said you weren't going to..."

"Shh," his breath was back to her ear. "I'm not going to." He pressed the fabric down her hips and over her thighs. "I told you last night I wanted to taste you. That is just what I intend to do." He pulled away, pushing her undergarments past her knees and getting them lose from her feet. He sat up and looked down at her as he tossed them aside. "Don't be afraid," he purred at her. "You will enjoy this."

He slid off the bed and she looked down, squeaking unpleasantly when he grabbed her hips and tugged her downward so her rump was at the edge of the bed. His eyes connected with hers and he rubbed his bread against her inner thigh, "I don't know how thick your walls are, if you scream will they hear it?"

She looked confused, unsure how to answer. Gooseflesh had risen up her thigh and his tongue seemed to trace a slow, agonizing route northward. He lightly nosed the patch of fuzz between her thighs and his other hand reached forward to delicately part her nether lips for his inspection. He purred again and she shuddered, him so close that she could feel it there. She tried to clench her thighs together but he had them held apart. His tongue deftly traced her entrance and she could barely contain the gasp that escaped her, her head fell back against her bed and she instinctively rolled her hips up to meet his questing mouth.

His tongue had begun curling and tracing patterns upon the button above her sex, making her move and quake at the feelings it insighted. His mouth closed around it and she felt the pressure of a finger enter her, she moaned lowly as he started to combine suction with the strokes of his tongue to her clitoris. He had ignited the fire and now he was building it up. She curled her fingers into his hair and rolled her hips against his face, gasping as she started to feel as if she just might combust. She clenched around the thrusting finger and found another added, stretching her. Is this what sex would feel like? She keened at the thought, if it felt this good she was going to crave it.

His fingers curled upward and she felt the sharpness of his teeth, she didn't think she could handle more. Her back arched and she cried out as she started to tumble apart. He didn't stop though, he road it out with thrusting fingers and a questing tongue. It made her quake harder and the feelings magnify. It didn't hold a flame to the feelings he created in her in her father's study.

She felt her nerves reconnecting, his tongue still seemed to lap at her as he withdrew his fingers. He leaned his head against her thigh and bite lightly into her skin. "Princess?" His use of the title brought her out of the haze just enough to gaze down at him, her hand was still clenched in his hair though she wasn't forcing his face back between her thighs. She loosened her fingers and curled them down to stroke the strong lines of his face. He turned to kiss her palm, "Have I lost you? Did you enjoy it like I promised?"

She found it hard to keep her eyes from drifting closed but she nodded lightly. "Was it so good that I will lose you to sleep?" He asked with a chuckle. She felt his weight as he climbed back to join her on the bed, "I wonder, will you give me the opportunity to taste you again?"

"Taste me again?" She echoed curiously.

"Your cunt was so delicious that I will find the need to eat it at every opportunity I can get," he purred into her ear. She flushed at his words, they were so vulgar. "Will you let me?"

She opened her eyes, seeing him laying beside her. His eyes were slitted and filled with lust and she noted the dampness of his beard. Dimly somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized it was her juices that were on his face and beard. She swallowed hard and ran her fingers through the damp hair on his chin, "Yes."

Did she ever have a choice in it?

* * *

When you make yourself blush, jeez. Was that a bit much?


	5. Chapter 5

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story is rated M for mature, meaning there is mature content ahead. There is mature content within this chapter and likely to be more in further chapters. If you do not like it, please consider reading material with a different rating.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy."

Let us get this chapter off with a bang, shall we?

* * *

She had dozed off, which probably wasn't the most polite thing to do after the intimate moment. There had been something about the orgasm he had given her that had seemed to sap every bit of energy from her. Coupled with the lack of sleep she had been getting lately she didn't fight the darkness when it stole her away. It's likely she would have stayed asleep, in nothing but her corset and stockings with half her body hanging from the bed. Only, the bed shifted and there was an odd shift and shake to it.

Her eyes opened and she was in her dark bedroom, looking up at the canopy. Only she wasn't alone. She looked and saw him reclined against the headboard, he had propped her pillows up and looked quite at home. He remained in a state of undress, though it appeared it had decreased more. She took the opportunity to truly look at him. He was well sculpted, muscles flowed beneath his skin as he shifted his arm back and forth. He had a sprinkling of hair across his chest and the light of the moon glinted on something, make that somethings, that appeared to be struck through his nipples. It caught her attention, though she couldn't quite figure out what they were.

She went back to admiring his form until she took notice of what he was actually doing. He had opened the front of his trousers and seemed to be stroking himself. His eyes had been closed and he hadn't seemed to catch her scrutiny just yet, but she felt the heat rising to her cheeks. She couldn't stop watching though, he stroked his hardened cock with a familiarity that she wasn't sure she had with her own sex.

He was thick, though she had never seen another man's private bits before she didn't really have much to speculate with. And there appeared to be a good length to him and she found herself finding it hard to fathom how he would fit inside her. Surely, it would hurt. Her thighs quivered and she clenched them together. But he had done things to her that felt so good. What would it feel like when he entered her?

"Did I wake you sleeping beauty?" She looked up and met his gaze, his eyes were half lidded and she imagined there must have been something exciting about her watching him pleasure himself. He hadn't stop his stroking. "Forgive me," he grunted lightly, "I couldn't help myself."

She swallowed hard, "You're still here?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Should I have serviced you and left?" He chuckled, "Sorry I wasn't aware of the rules. I was taking advantage of the view and thought I would enjoy myself." She sat up, watching thinking she should be offended and disgusted but the air of appeal he had to him she found it hard to ignore him. "Question now, do you like what you see?"

Her breath caught as she looked at him, he was like the marble statues of men. His physique appeared to be perfect and she could only imagine what it would be like to touch him, to curl into him and taste his skin. "You are," she tried hard to collect her thoughts, but she felt the want building back in her keeping her thoughts scattered. "You are beautiful. Are you still here just to tempt me?"

"Tempt you to do what exactly?" He purred at her, he raised his chin at her, "Do what I have done to you? Do you want to see what it is like to have the upper hand?" She looked hard at him, not at all sure she could take the reins and be the sexual creature he was trying to tempt her into being. "Why fight it? What are you doing wrong? We are to be wed, I will not allow us to do anything that will breach the agreement with your father." His voice was a low rumble and she closed her eyes, trying to break the imagine of this beautiful man near naked on her bed teasing her. "Touch me," he hissed at her. "Take the liberties with me as I have you."

She wanted to, she opened her eyes to glare at him. The more he spoke the words slithered over her and tempted her, she found herself giving in. She crawled up the bed to join him, she didn't break eye contact but closed the distance to kiss him. She wasn't as refined or educated in the art as he, but he seemed to respond. His mouth was hungry upon hers and he didn't strive to steal the lead she had taken, he allowed her to direct where the kiss would go.

She splayed a hand against his chest, curling her fingers through the coarse hair and tugging gently. She felt the movement of him increasing the pace of his stroking hand and pulled away to look at him again. His hand paused when he realized just what held her attention, he rolled his fingers over the tip of his cock as he watched her inspect him. She trailed her hand down his stomach, following the light path of dark hair that seemed to lead her. She hesitated, thinking of how it felt when he touched her. He knew what he was doing, but she was clueless.

"You would drive me to madness," he growled lowly. His hips rocked up, "There is not much a man would not do to have a lovely maiden touch him. Need I beg you?"

She turned to look at him, watching intently as her fingers swirled through the nest of curls before lightly grasping the base of him. "Here's the difference between you and I," she found her nerve. "You touch me and know what to do. I... I don't know how to make your toes curl."

His eyes suddenly closed and she felt his hand slide down his length to join hers, pressing her palm to his flesh and wrapping her fingers around him. "I will be more than overjoyed to show you the art of making a man weak with want," his voice seemed to lose it's beckoning lit as he had her hand encircle him. He was thick, to her judgment, her fingers barely met around the width of him. The skin seemed hotter than the rest of him, and he was most definitely hot blooded as she had already noted. Though he was stiff, likely to stand out and away if she were to release him, the skin was still silky smooth. It made her wonder again what it would feel like as it moved into her. She slid her hand up his length and he hissed lowly, his hand following her movement. She paused at the head of his cock, fingers toying with the foreskin before she drifted back down.

"Is this all there is to it?" She thought aloud as she began to build a rhythm to stroking his erection. It seemed simple enough and she had his hand there as guidance.

"Oh," he grunted, hips rising with their combined stroking. "There is more," his voice sounded slightly strained. She turned to spy at his features, his eyes had clenched closed and he seemed to be in deep concentration. She tightened her hold on his cock and it caused him to grunt in response. When their hands reached the tip he caused their hands to twist, showing her in essence how he enjoyed it. She looked back down at the task at hand and made sure to repeat it once they got back up.

His head dropped back against her headboard and he winced as if pained, he urged their hands to move quicker. Was this what it was like for men? His hipped bucked and he grunted again, seeming close to his own completion. She found herself cross with which to watch, there was something mesmerizing about handling him like this it seemed almost empowering to know that she was igniting feelings in him like he had done to her. But, with each noise that seemed to tear through him, she was drawn to watch his expression. His lips pulled back and he bared his teeth as he seemed to reach closer to the build up.

Finally, as if he could take no more, his expression almost pained, a gasp tore from him. He reached forward to cup his hand over the head of his cock, catching the milky white substance that started to pour from him. Or he tried to, while he definitely ended up with a handful it still leaked out and started to trickle down his softening length and over their hands.

He rested back against her bed, panting lightly as if he had been running and was now out of breath. "You've made a mess of me," he complained lightly. She blinked then looked from where she still held his cock to him. He peered at her through his lashing, a lazy smirk on his face, "Hardly impressive I know. So you are aware, you make an orgasm look far more enjoyable."

She flushed and carefully pulled her hand away from him, the essence of him still clung to parts of her hand. It was sticky. "I'll get us a towel so we can clean up," she stood and went to her basin, filling it with water and cleaning her hands. "You looked pained, did it hurt?"

When she turned back to him, putting her towel into the water to dampen it, he was watching her intently. His cock still stood out from his pants and while it had softened from her attentions it didn't seem to be losing anymore stiffness. Was sex all he thought about? "It wasn't painful, while I can't equate it to the female orgasm, I assure you despite what my expression might have told you it was most definitely enjoyable." He chuckled as caught her eyeing him, "Don't worry, I am satiable. Just the view of you in your lack of dress is a tempting sight." She walked to him and offered him the towel so that he could clean himself.

"You've had lovers before," she sat on the edge of the bed, wishing she could dress but not sure if she was willing to turn to do so while he was still in her room. "Why settle down now?"

He took a moment to clean his hands and then went about cleaning the rest of himself, "Lovers are not something that stay, they come and they go at their own convenience. There is never really the interest between either party to have more than just the enjoyment of one another's bodies. It's as I told you and your father before. Children are the essence of what I want. And while I could take a woman from my kingdom easily, I see you and all your worldly attributes and I think of the benefits that they would have when it comes to mixing our lines to create children." He looked down at his half mast erection with a bit of distaste, "The talk of sex isn't likely to help my situation here."

"Is this normal?"

He grimaced, looking slightly uncomfortable, "Perhaps it has been a while since I've actually bedded a woman, don't judge it." He took a moment to carefully tuck himself back into his trousers, "I will handle it later in the privacy of my borrowed room. I get the feeling if I were to try to solve the problem again while in your presence it would hardly alleviate it."

"I did this to you?"

He leaned forward to capture her mouth with his, kissing her gently. It was pleasant and not as wanton as before, "You are beautiful, if there is a man that could deny you and your beautiful damn him. But, I suppose it is my good fortune if he has." He pulled away from her and stood, lacing up the front of his trousers and securing them close. He found his white jerkin and slid into it. "You should consider your beauty a power, if you will. People look at you and they are mesmerized. If they are foolish they will underestimate you, as I had when I first met you." He picked up his jacket and looked at her, "Fortunately for me, you've shown me the error of my ways."

"So, you are going to have me service you and leave?" She couldn't help, but smile as she threw the jab back at him.

He smirked, "Oh, but if I could throw you back on the bed and have my way with you I would." He pulled the jacket on and then easily stepped back into his boots, "The hour is late and I have stolen more of your sleep than I should. I bid you good night my princess." Fully dressed now, though a little rumpled, he went to her door. "The sweetest dreams to you," he gave her a low bow and then went out her door.

She sat looking at the door and wondered at what he had done to her. Would she have denied him had he come back to make good on his threat? She went to look for the towel and found it missing, he had taken it with him. The only evidence of his being here was the pile of dress in the doorway. She went pick it up and then managed to struggle out of her corset and roll the stockings off. Now she would try to mettle through her thoughts and find some much needed rest.

Her pillow smelled of him, a musk like smoke from a bonfire. It wasn't unpleasant. Could she live with this? She sighed and covered her eyes with a hand. She would have to get used to the idea of him being there. At least, it had it's benefits.

She was awoken by the sound of tapping at her door. She pulled her head from under her pillow and glared in the direction of the door. This was beginning to become a trend. She would have a night, whether or not she could call it bad was up for discussion, and then she would sleep restlessly and wake to someone at her door. She sat up with a groan and went to fetch her robe. She wrapped it around herself and went to her door.

She wasn't sure who she was expecting at her door, it would have most likely been Baileywick or Victor. Victor because after last night she wouldn't have been surprised to see him leaning against her door wanting to carry out another day of 'entertainment.' Which would likely end with his wandering hands and persuasive mouth. However, fortunately or unfortunately she hadn't decided yet, that wasn't who was at her door.

Her sister stood at her door, her friends Hildegarde and Clio hovering just behind her. "Are you still in bed? Sofia it's after lunch. Really, you need to stop being so lazy there will be a lot to do in the coming months. Get dressed, we're going out to the veranda for tea and you're going to join us."

"Is it that late?" She whimpered, she hadn't used the sleeping potion. Lack of sleep had just caught up with her, not to mention the company she had. "Is there any chance there'll be something to eat at tea?"

Her sister smiled at her, "I'll be sure to ask Chef Andre to include some of his chicken salad sandwiches."

"I'll be down there in about thirty minutes."

She closed the door and went to clean her face, scrubbing the sleep from her face. She paused as she looked for the hand towel, but found it missing. It dawned on her why it wasn't there and she flushed. She went on to brush her teeth and hurriedly dressed so she could meet her sister and her friends for tea.

When she finally stepped out onto the veranda she was greeted with an, "Oh well, look who finally decided to join us. Did you have a long night Sofia?" The Freezenberg Princess said from behind her fan.

Her brows drew together as she sat down next to her sister, she gave Clio a light smile. The other girl smiled in return, while she was still a shadow to the Freezenberg Princess she had managed to have an identity of her own. "Hello, Sofia. It's good to see you. Congratulations on your engagement."

She picked up her tea cup, filled with peppermint tea. "Thank you, Clio. It's good to see you, too. I'm glad you were able to make the Ball. I know it was last minute."

"Now, now," Hildegarde waved her fan before placing it down to sip daintily at her tea. "All those formalities have already been covered. Let's not pretend like we haven't grown up together and we don't know each other well enough to not know what's going on with the other." She set her teacup down and plucked up her fan to cover her cheeks, "Your fiancé, how is it that you managed to hook him before any other kingdom knew about him?"

She cleared her throat and helped herself to a sandwich or two, she was starting to feel hunger from the missed meals. "I didn't make any attempt to 'hook' him. Anytime I have questioned him about the matter, he only says that I appealed to him."

"Don't be insulted that he didn't accept your father's offer last night, Hilde. He has already made an agreement with Daddy and Sofia. Really," Amber put her hand on Sofia's shoulder. "You should be glad that she's not offended that your father would try to outbid her agreement with Victor."

"Oh, I'm not trying to take her man from her, Amber," while she couldn't see the smirk on her face, the fan hid it, it was very evident that she had a smug expression from the tone of her voice. "I saw the way he kissed her last night. I don't know that there is much my father could have offered him that would get him from beneath her skirts."

"Hilde!"

She flushed, despite Amber's shocked outburst. "You saw?"

"Oh I happened to be coming down the hall to see him press you against the wall and then," she lowered her fan, a pleased smile on her face as she paused to sip her tea. "Then he proceeded to open your door and pull you into your room. I had no idea you were promiscuous. I'm surprised really, I expected you to be one of those girls to save it for your wedding night."

"That's where you went?" Clio questioned her.

Amber on the other hand looked at Sofia with a bit of shock on her face, "Is that what happened?" Her cheeks were rosy as if she, too, were embarrassed by the situation her friend had seen.

"Oh, I wouldn't bother trying to deny it. I hung around," she smiled. "With the noise you made I can only imagine that he is not only pretty to look at, but talented."

She shot a look at her sister, trying to think of something to say to the other girl, "It's not what you think."

"If Daddy finds out he'll be mad."

"We didn't actually do it," she snapped suddenly, her face felt so hot. The three girls looked at her with a growing curiosity. She took a breath as she fought over how much to divulge to them. "He just kissed me and touched me, that's all."

"Oh, I'm sure he did," Hildegarde's voice suggested that she didn't at all believe her. "Does anyone remember how long they said it would take for a woman to start showing when she was with child?"

"Hildegarde!" She growled at her.

"Oh don't worry, Sofia," she said sweetly. "I won't tell anyone. I only asked out of concern. You have to be careful about these things."

"Why are you being like this?" Amber asked suddenly. "I know Sofia wouldn't do anything to get herself in trouble like that."

The other girl's expression darkened and before she could voice her grievance, her gaze shifted. She plucked her fan up and used it as a means to cover her sour look, "Speak of the devil and he arrives. Good afternoon, Prince Victor. Would you care to join us for tea?"

She turned to see the man in question approaching, he had a pleasant look upon his face and bowed to the four of them with a flourish. He wore a similar jacket to the one he had been wearing the night before though it wasn't as decorated. "Princesses, while I would adore to join you this fine afternoon, I fear I have only come to take away Sofia from you. She and I have some important things to discuss."

"Oh well if you must take her," Hildegarde said with a wave of her fan. "Just do be careful, it would be a shame to have to rush a wedding."

He looked momentarily confused put offered his arm to Sofia. She stood, mournfully leaving behind what would have been her breakfast, and took his arm. "I hope to see you ladies later," he said with a smile.

Amber shot her a look, eyes narrowed. There would be a discussion between them later. Victor swept her away and they started to head back into the castle, "Cat fight?" He sounded curious.

"I don't know what her problem is," she said with a frustrated sigh. "But, she saw you kissing me in the hallway. And then you come into my room last night."

"Oh," he looked over his shoulder with a bit of surprise. "She saw us? That is troublesome." He frowned as he looked ahead, "I'm sorry I didn't consider the consequences of my actions. I sincerely hope that this will not create trouble for us." They were making their way to her father's study. "The girl with the fan was practically thrown at me by her father he was so eager to open up trade with my kingdom when he heard of the goods that I was bringing to Enchancia." He took a breath and released it slowly, it was almost a hiss and she unexplainably shuddered, "I declined the offer of his daughter because I had already made my choice."

"She seemed off, I guess she was insulted," she could only offer him a shrug.

He frowned and stopped them just outside the door to the study, "Do I need to be concerned?"

She could only shrug at him, again. "I don't know. I have to see what she wants, which I will."

He looked momentarily relieved and smiled at her, "Shall we get to business?" She could only nod and he opened the door. The room was occupied with more than her father this time, King Aaron of Freezenberg was there as was Emperor Quan of Wei-ling. The Emperor was seated on a lounge that was up against the wall, pleasantly nursing a tumbler that appeared to be filled with the amber liquid that Victor had brought to the kingdom. King Aaron on the other hand was standing alongside her father's desk, watching them with an expression that spoke of nothing but calculation.

"Good afternoon, Princess," he offered her a light bow and she curtseyed immediately. "So grand of you to join us."

"Yes, well," Victor brought her to one of the chairs before her father's table and offered her the seat. "We are speaking of her future, she should have a say in it," he smiled at her again and she was struck by the sudden noble intent. It was odd seeing how he was the one that requested her hand.

"What was it that you were talking about?"

"I know you were just recently engaged, Sofia," her father started, looking uncomfortable. "But there is pressure," a glare was sent to the Freezenberg king, "For a wedding to happen soon."

"I have offered Prince Victor Hildegarde's hand," he said seeming uncaring about the fact that her father was glowering at him. "I was made aware that you were against the idea of marriage to Prince Victor and my Hildegarde is all too willing. If the Prince would like to consider the option."

She blinked and looked up at Victor, his brows were furrowed and he met her gaze. She could see the irritation, "I wasn't offered to you as a deal between my father and you. You requested my hand." She looked to King Aaron, raising a brow. "It is his choice. If he would prefer Princess Hildegarde I can't begrudge him."

Victor cleared his throat then and looked to the King as well, "She speaks the truth. Roland didn't even offer her when we began negotiations when I first arrived. I thought he was squandering his best gem and before I left I requested her hand. While she was against it at first, I believe I have won her over." He looked down at her with a smile, "Though it wasn't for a lack of great effort." He laid his arm to rest against the back of her chair and with a lazy bit of confidence raised his eyebrow at the visiting king. "It's as I told you last night. Your daughter is beautiful and I am more than sure she would be a grand offering to another man. But I have made my choice and am more than pleased with it."

"I, also, offering him Princess Jun," the Emperor quipped from his seat across the room. "However, I gracefully accepted his decline. It is for the best. Little Jun has her eyes set on another boy. I would be hard pressed to break her heart." She smiled at hearing that, wishing her father would have thought to be the same way.

"I am not being disgraceful," King Aaron hrumped. "It was just brought to my attention that she was not pleased with the prospect. I thought perhaps, if you offered the girl a chance to make the choice on her own she would reconsider, that is all."

She hesitated, meeting the curious gaze of her father. She could feel the form beside her tensing as she remained silent. This was a way out if there ever was one. She looked down at her hands, but if she took it there would be repercussions for it. She snuck a glance at the prince standing by her side and noted that he was watching her intently. "I appreciate what you are offering me," she said slowly. "I understand how my reaction before when he first requested my hand could have been construed as negative and insulting to him. But the agreement has already been made. To rescind it, especially after he's made it clear that he would rather I not..." She sighed heavily and looked up at her father. "I couldn't."

She heard him breathe a sigh of relief from beside her. "That's a pity," the King of Freezenberg said with a bit of disdain on his expression. "I suppose then the invitation will have us coming back to join you in Enchancia, Roland. I think I will gather my daughter and be on my way." He looked to Victor with a frown, "I look forward to seeing you again. I will be sure to consider the offerings your kingdom has with some hard thought on what Freezenberg can offer in return. I bid you all good day." And with that, and a swish of his cloak, King Aaron made his way out of the study.

Once the door was closed, Victor took the seat next to hers, smiling at her, "If there weren't so many people present I would kiss you right now."

"That is something I would very much like to avoid watching," her father grimaced. "Now that that is done, let us talk about the real business at hand. The reason Victor went out to fetch you was he wanted to discuss the date of a wedding."

"So soon?" She frowned at Victor, "We haven't been engaged a week and you want to set a date now?"

"I have a schedule to keep," he leaned to rest on the armrest closest to her. "I am quite busy with all the things that I have arranged with your father. So, yes, if we can set a date and start planning that would be very nice."

"How about next spring?" The Emperor offered, "Spring is always the time of new beginnings."

Her father chuckled, "His brandy is strong, isn't it?"

"I wasn't expecting to find myself hit so hard by it," the Emperor confided.

"Spring is nice," Victor agreed. "But, I was hoping for something a bit sooner."

"How soon?" She looked at him hard, would he push for a short engagement just to get what he wanted?

"I would take you home with me tomorrow if your father would allow me," he smiled at her. "Honestly, I see no reason to drag out an engagement."

"An engagement, especially for an arrangement such as yours, is a means for you and your bride to be to become acquainted with one another. That is why, in often times, the engagements are long. Lin-Lin and I were engaged for nearly two years before our marriage. I often think that it may have been because she, too, was against the idea of marrying me," the Emperor smiled pleasantly, making it quite obvious that he was smashed. "But I believe I have grown on her. I am unsure what I would do without her now."

Her father chuckled, "There's advantages to long engagements. But then, I see why you are pressing the issue. No, I won't allow you to marry Sofia tonight so you can take her home with you tomorrow Victor. I'm not sure I would survive Miranda if I did."

Victor didn't look upset by the admission, if anything he chuckled in amusement, "Ah well, I wouldn't be able to be a proper husband if I were to marry her tonight. The coming months will busy for both you and I as we make arrangements. I will have to lead a force to begin harvesting lumber and make sure that the way is clear back to our castle. I suppose I will also need to make sure that I have an appropriate area for the princess so I will not bore her out of her mind." He rubbed his beard as he looked at her, considering all the things he wanted. "September? It is not far away, I know, but would it be adequate time to plan a wedding?"

"That's almost four months away," she said stiffly.

"I'm more than positive that we could manage something. If you set a date all we need to do is tell Amber and she will get with the gardener and the chef and the tailor. I'm sure she would have it put together by September," her father seemed pleased. "Is there a particular day you would like?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "The second weekend would be well enough." He looked at her, raising an eyebrow, "Does that sound alright?"

She swallowed hard, looking from him to her father. Things seemed like they were going so fast now. In a blink of an eye, four months would be gone and she would be committing herself to him. She looked at him, seeing that his expression seemed to be carefully blank. She looked down at her hands, if King Aaron had seen the hesitation in her now he would probably press for Victor to take Hildegarde again. "That sounds fine," she said carefully.

"That's great! It's settled then," her father started to search through his desk. "I'll find a calendar and we'll get right on it. I'll tell your mother and your sister so they can both start getting us all ready for the date."

Victor rose and offered her his hand, "If you don't mind. I would like to spend the rest of the day with your daughter. It'll be sometime before she and I can see each other again."

Her father smiled, seeming endeared by his request for her time, "By all means. We will see you two at dinner though."

"It's lovely," the Emperor commented as well. "I do believe, Roland, that I will need some help getting back to my carriage. I didn't think that this brandy, as you called it, would be so strong."

"I'll get Baileywick," she offered. But the door to the study slid open behind them and the steward was there, as if he heard his name being called. She sighed and took Victor's proffered hand, allowing him to lead the way out of the study.

She had been hungry before, now she just lost her appetite.

He took her out to the gardens, finding their way to the maze that he had been admiring since his first arrival. "I would like to see if I can manage my way out without assistance," he released her hand and began walking forward on his own. She followed at a slower pace, watching as he paused at junctions and looked one way then the other.

"You seemed unhappy about the date we set for our wedding," he observed as they rounded a bend. "Is there a particular reason why?"

"I didn't expect things to move so quickly," she admitted. "It's not been, but a few days since I agreed to this. And then it's announced to all my peers, people I grew up with, and the date is set." She sighed and looked upward, wishing that he had changed his mind. "Setting the date makes it more real, I guess."

He hummed, pausing at a junction and seemed to struggle to decide which way to go. "Would you have rather I picked the other girl?"

"It's not too late to change your mind," she pointed out, she started to go past him, moving in the direction she knew to be the right one.

Only he caught her hand and pulled her close to him, he was so quick that it startled a gasp from her. "I could and you're right, it's not too late," he pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it. His eyes looked as if they were burning, "But, I have no intentions of doing so. While you are stubborn, every bit of you that I have seen has been nothing but pleasing to me. I think I can find a way, once I know you better, to keep you happy. Once I become king, you would be a queen that is adored by my people, they would follow you without a thought or a question," he kept her hand, though he moved it so he could intimately invade her space. "While the other girl is very beautiful, there is something about her that strikes me as… High maintenance. I wouldn't have the time, and perhaps the patience, to give her the attention she would seem to require. Do you understand?"

"I do," she bit her lip, because she knew his assumptions about Hildegarde were true.

He growled lowly and before she could protest, he pulled her chin up and pressed a kiss to her lips. He quickly engulfed her, his arms going around her waist and pressing her flush to him. "You bite your lip like that," his voice was low, "and I find myself wanting to bite it, too."

She pulled away from him, looking in the direction of the balcony and remembering that they had been seen before. "We're out in the open, we could be seen again," she pulled away from him. "My sister already thinks that … That we have already…" She trailed off, flushing.

"That's unfortunate, gossip usually proves to be untrue," he sighed and went in the direction she had been headed. They came to the middle, which was occupied by a beautiful ornate marble fountain. She went to sit down on the base, looking up at him as he puzzled out the way out, different from the way they had come. "I do suppose I see your grievance with the open displays of affection feeding the rumor mill with the lovely princesses that frequent your castle, I do have an argument to pose." He turned to look at her, "You are engaged to me and while I may not be as young as some of the princes you are familiar with, I am quite … male. I will refrain from overtly affectionate displays in open view while we are engaged. After we are wed, however, I make no such promises."

She shook her head, not sure she should expect more from him. "That's all that I can ask, I guess. You do know it's for the best though. If they assume we've done something and talk to dad, I'm not sure what his reaction will be."

He rubbed his chin, "It will be a challenge to keep my hands to myself." He looked at her, "It's difficult to do it even now, so you are aware. I have made a great effort to behave myself, you should appreciate that."

"I appreciate it," she gave him a slight smile.

"Shall we play a little game, princess?"

"What type of game?"

"A race really," he offered her a grin. "Whoever finds their way out from here first is the winner."

She raised an eyebrow at him, knowing that he was up to something, "And the prize to the winner?"

"Well, if I were to win…" he paused to eye her. "You allow me to join you in your room tonight, after the rest of the castle has retired for the night, of course, and you allow me to get my fill of you." He wiggled his eyebrows at her so there was no mistaking what he meant.

"What if I win?" She couldn't hide her amusement.

He started to answer then paused, he could only shrug. "What would you want? Something that will leave me disappointed, I'm sure."

She was given pause, unsure what she would want from. She stood as she struggled to think of her options. Part of her wanted him in her room, doing what he had done the night before. He raised an eyebrow at her, seeming to sense her indecision. "When does the race start?"

He smiled at her, seeming all too pleased, "Ready, set. Go!" With that, he was off like a shot and she wasn't far behind him. She took a different path, one she knew well, and hitched up her skirts so she could run unhindered. Excitement, from what she was unsure, had her running full she cleared the hedges she released a laugh and turned to see him leaning against the hedge. He looked as if he had been there the whole time, he didn't have a hair out of place and he looked as if they hadn't just want made a mad dash to get out of the maze. "Who won?" She panted.

"Both of us, I think," he came to stand beside her. "Tonight," he said lightly, brushing back some stray wisps of hair that had gone wild as she ran. "Don't stay up, get your rest."

"You won't be coming into my room?"

"I intend to, but it will be late and I have been interfering with your sleep enough. Your family has mentioned that you are usually an early riser and you have been missing breakfast." He closed the distance between them, "I have hopes that you will see me off in the morning."

She offered him a smile, "It would be rude of me if I weren't there."

"The snub doesn't concern me," he leaned down, "I would just like a parting kiss." He pressed his lips to hers, it was chaste compared to the others he had given her. He pulled away looking down at her, "See, I am perfectly capable of behaving."

She couldn't keep from chuckling at his expense, "Thank you."

"I have somethings to attend to prepare for my impending departure, so I will need to take my leave of you," he took a hand to press a kiss to it. "I will see you tonight at dinner."

"Okay, this will give me the opportunity to talk with Amber," with that said they parted ways.

It took an effort to find her sister, she wasn't in her bedroom or out on the veranda where she had left her. She was passing the music room when she heard the soft melody of a harp. It could be only one person.

Amber always favored the harp, though apart of their princess education had involved learning several different instruments. She opened the door and spied her sister plucking away at the harp strings, the song she played had a melancholy tone to it. She stepped into the room, meeting her sister's gaze. Amber didn't stop playing, signifying the fact that she wasn't happy about her intrusion.

She sighed and sat on the piano bench as she waited her out. Eventually, her patience started to wear thin. With a sour look to her sister, she began to play Chopsticks. She managed halfway through the song before her sister final lost it. "Sofia!" She snapped, carefully easing the harp back into place and standing so she could properly huff. "Sometimes you are as insufferable as James!"

"I thought you wanted to talk," she covered the piano keys and turned to look at her. "Or did I misjudge the glare you gave me earlier?"

"You didn't, but it wasn't a glare," she came to join her on the bench. "It was an unspoken demand, obviously you got it clearly, because here you are." Amber colored lightly, "So, all that was true?"

Sofia sighed, "What all did she tell you?"

"She said she saw you two kissing passionately, then he opened your door and pulled you into it. She said it wasn't long after that that she heard you moaning loudly," she was a bright shade of pink. "It's hard to not assume what happened."

She looked away, "We didn't have sex."

"So, you are still a virgin?"

"Yes," she puffed a breath. "One of the conditions that dad made was that we not do that before the wedding."

"He made a similar condition with Zandar," Amber confided. "Though, he's never done anything other than kiss me awkwardly and fumble with touching my breasts." She looked embarrassed, "He's never really touched me in a way that would make me want him to do more." She eyed Sofia, her curiosity evident, "What did he do to you?"

"He kissed me," she flushed. "He's very good at it."

"He did more than kiss you," she leaned closer, her voice lowering as if they were sharing a secret. "She said you were making a lot of noise. What did he do? Don't be coy!"

Sofia clenched her thighs together, remembering all that he did to her and the feelings that went with it, "He touched me and he kissed me." She struggled with how to verbalized it, "He kissed me… Down there."

Amber blinked at her, "Between your legs?" She nodded, flushing, "That sounds scandalous! How… How did it feel?"

Sofia lowered her voice so she was sure it was only she and Amber that would hear their conversation, "It's hard to explain, it … It felt good. I don't know that I really thought about anything outside what his mouth was doing to me." She looked away from her sister, feeling embarrassed by the conversation, "He said he would make my toes curl and I guess he did. I didn't realize I was making any noises for Hildegarde to hear."

"Now, I wish Zandar was more forward," Amber sighed as she leaned her shoulder against Sofia's. "How would Victor know how to do these things to you?"

"He's in his thirties, Amber," she said with a frown. "And he's not a virgin. I'm fairly positive that Zandar is."

"You mean he's had lovers? I guess that doesn't surprise me, but it doesn't upset you that you won't be his first?"

She could only shrug her shoulders, "He said that his people don't see the value in holding on to virtue like we do. I can't say that it bothers me too much out of all the things that do bother me."

"You're still bothered by the fact that you are engaged to him? Why does it bother you?" She sounded irritated by the idea. "He seems to be very attentive to you. Especially if he takes so many measures to pleasure you."

"There's still something about him, it does seem to matter how close he gets to me, but there's something that's not right," she sighed. "I can't figure it out, which is just as frustrating to me as it can be for anyone else. He's been nice and nothing, but reasonable. But, I can't seem to shake the feeling that there's something not right. He seems in a big rush for us to get married, sex and children can't be the only reason."

"He's trying to rush the wedding? Did you already set a date?" Her sister seemed to gloss over the fact that the man felt off to her.

She sighed in defeat, it seemed that the only person that would listen to her grievance about Victor was her sorcerer and he seemed to be second guessing her, too. "It's set for the second weekend of September," it was an effort to not get short with her.

"That soon? There's so much to do!" She started to stand, but Sofia grabbed her hand.

"What about Hildegarde? She didn't say anything about getting me in trouble, did she?"

"Hilde really has no business judging anyone about their … Carnal activities. She's just mad that this is another Prince that's not interested in her hand. She's had offers, but they're all from dukes. Hilde would much rather be a queen then a duchess," Amber could only shrug it off. "I think she's just insulted by the fact that Victor wanted you over her and you know how she can get."

"Desmond was the first," she recalled, "but really she shouldn't have been surprised by that. Desmond wasn't fond of her at Royal prep, either."

"She'll get over it, she can't really hold it against you if Victor chose you first. Really, it was rude of her father to make the offer. Now," she pulled her hand other of Sofia's grasp. "There's a lot to do and I need to start organizing list of the things that we will need for the wedding. Don't run off either, I'll come looking for you later."

She sighed, "I'm sure we can discuss it at dinner." She watched her sister hurry away and wondered how everyone seemed to ignore her instinct. She turned around back to the piano and decided, after leafing through some music that reflected her sour mood, to get in some practice. She wasn't as apt at the piano as Amber was at the harp, but it served as a distraction from all the circling thoughts in her mind.

Her fingers began to ache, she wasn't as dexterous as she would have liked to be. It was one of the reasons she preferred singing to playing instruments. She paused a moment, to give her knuckles a rub in the effort to loosen the tightness and nearly jumped out of her skin when throat was cleared. She turned to see her husband to be standing in the doorway, he had his hands folded behind his back and was watching her.

"Sorry," he smiled impishly, telling her that he wasn't at all sorry for frightening her. "I came to fetch you for dinner, but I heard you playing. I wasn't aware that you were also gifted in music."

"I'm not very good," she confided as she replaced the cover over the keys, "We were taught the basics of most of musical instruments, but I prefer to sing." She stood, "Amber's gifted when it comes to instruments, she plays the harp very well."

He offered her his arm, "Is there any chance I could coerce you into singing for me?"

She smiled, feeling shy suddenly, "Maybe later? I would feel awkward to walk into the dining room in the middle of a song."

"I will hold you to it," he started to direct them towards the dining room. "Music is a great means of soothing the savage beast, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you princesses were taught measures to comfort and soothe men."

"Are you admitting to being a beast?"

He chuckled at her, "I would be hard pressed to deny my beastliness. Even with as well mannered and a well dressed as a man can be, they still all contain a savage beast in them that bids them to take and claim as much as they can." He brushed his fingers along the hand that rested against his bicep, seeming to make a strong effort to be well behaved. Though, it was evident that he found it difficult to keep from touching her all together. "Women," he continued as they walked. "While they have the sure ability of being just as savage and beastly as men, they are far more apt to being nurturing and caring than we males are." He glanced at her with a hit of a smirk peeking out, "You can manage to soothe the foulness that a man is, or I am finding you very apt at containing all the foulness that I am. Had you not been present before, I'm not so sure that I would have so nicely declined the King of Freezenberg when he tried to press the issue of accepting his daughter's hand."

"It was rude of him to press you again for if," she told him carefully. "I think the problem is that Hildegarde has dreams of being a queen, but she is the youngest in her family she's not going to lead her own kingdom. So, she is putting pressure on her father to find her a prince that will one day take the crown of his respective country."

"She would have been highly disappointed then," he couldn't contain his chuckles. "My father is in good health and not likely to pass his crown down for sometime."

She could only shrug, "It's not an issue. You declined his offer and here we still are."

"Yes," he paused to open the door to the dining room, "Here we are." He waved her in then followed not far behind her. Her family was already seated at the table, though her setting was still beside Victor's. He took a moment to pull out her chair for her then push it back once she was seated. He sat beside her and shortly after dinner was served.

Dinner went by with Amber commanding the majority of the conversation. Her mother remained quiet and seemed forlorn at the idea of her being married off so quickly. Anytime she caught her gaze, her mother would only offer her a weak smile before looking away. Her mother seemed to be torn still over the decision of her marrying the prince beside her, the close wedding date wasn't likely to help.

Amber's endless questions and offerings of advice on color schemes and cakes, all of it became overwhelming. Victor had the grace to look equally perplexed with all the things that Amber brought up and questioned. Her father didn't help her though, "Really, all he needs to worry about is being dressed and at the alter at the right time."

"Daddy, it's not that simple. What about his wedding party? He will need to tell me who his best man will, plus his groomsmen. Also, will he be wearing a military jacket or some other formal uniform?" Her sister sighed exaggeratedly at her father, "I also want to know if he wants to incorporate any sort of religious or traditional themes from his country."

Victor raised a hand to interrupt her, she didn't look like she was finished with the tirade, "No, since the bride is from Enchancia, I think it would be best to leave all religious and traditions to that of Enchancia. I would like to make this as toned down and minimal as possible. I may be able to pull away a man to serve as my 'best man,' though I cannot offer more for groomsmen."

"Don't you have siblings?"

"Will your parents be in attendance?" Her father asked.

Victor looked mildly uncomfortable, "My sister and I aren't currently on speaking terms, my brother is still an infant so he wouldn't make for a good groomsman." He looked to her father, "It is also very unlikely that my parents will be in attendance, my father is very busy which is why I am the one that brokered the deal between our kingdoms. My mother…" He hesitated, "The birth of my younger brother took quite a lot from her. She has yet to recover, I'm afraid."

"I'm very sorry to hear that," her father said in return. "I hope that there will be an opportunity to meet the rest of your family."

Victor smiled and nodded, "The reason for me dealing with negotiations is because my castle is closest to the border where our lands meet. My father's is further into our kingdom."

"Will any of your family even be coming to your wedding?" Amber seemed to pout about idea of a small wedding party.

"I will have a party of ten men with me, will that suffice?"

"Hardly, but I can make this work," she said with an overly dramatic huff.

"Keeping things simple will be best," she tried to persuade her sister.

"Simple can still be elegant, Sofia," was her retort.

"I think I am going to retire early for the night, may I be excused?" She looked to her father, the conversation making her feel queasy.

"Are you feeling alright?" Her mother looked concerned.

"My sleep schedule has been off lately, I'm just going to try to get it set right. That's all," she smiled at her mother trying to set her at ease.

"Alright, Sofia, we'll see you in the morning," her father said.

She stood and started to leave the table, but she was forced to stop when Victor caught her hand. He kissed it slowly, his eyes catching hers and holding them. The look alone ignited her, "Good night, my princess."

She flushed, knowing she had the full attention of all those presence. She lowered her head and offered him a smile, despite the spectacle he created, "Good night, Victor." She pulled her hand free from his grasp and left the dining room. Though she didn't miss the excited squeal from her sister.

She went back to her room, doing as she said she would. She started to prepare for bed, she cleaned her face and brushed out her hair. She shimmied out of her gown and pulled on her night dress all in record time on her own.

She went to her bed and opened her bedside draw, peering in at the potion that would help her sleep without an effort. If she used it, it's likely she wouldn't wake to greet her late night visitor. Would he come anyway? She found herself wanting him to, she started to crave the affections he gave her. The feel of his hands and mouth on her made her want more.

She closed the drawer, deciding that when he came to call upon her that she would want to wake to meet him. She wanted to feel the things that he would do to her. She pulled back the blankets on her bed and crawled beneath them, settling in. Sleep was hard to obtain, what with her sleeping in and the excitement that broiled in her belly. Eventually, she was pulled into the darkness. Dreams made it restless, she dreamed of his mouth tasting her and his fingers coiling within her.

She was waken from her dozing by the sound of her door sliding open. She sat up and looked to see Victor just inside her door, he put a finger to his lips and signaled for her to stay quiet. He stepped out of the door way, holding the candle that he had used to find his way high and away from the door.

She watched as a light peeked through the crack at the bottom of the door. It stopped there, hovering, as if the person on the other side was looking for something, or someone. There was no knock and the door didn't open, but the light did move on. He waited another beat, seeming to listening for the person that had been on the other side of the door.

Once he was sure the other person was gone, he turned and smiled at her. He came to join her at the bed, he set the candle stick down on her bedside table. "I had hopes of waking you with a kiss," he leaned down nevertheless and placed a chaste kiss upon her lips.

"I'm a light sleeper," she could only shrug at him.

"Duly noted," he stood back and started to pull of the white jerkin that was surely apart of his pajamas. The jerkin appeared to be a light linen as was the pants that hugged his hips. He tossed the top to the floor, giving her an eye full of the rippling muscles of his stomach. He didn't give her much time to admire him, he crawled onto the bed with her. He captured her mouth again, though the kiss was anything less than chaste. He started to press her back into the bed, leaning over her, but after the glimpse of him she had gotten she decided it wasn't the direction she wanted to go.

With some effort she managed to pull her mouth from his, she's put her hands on his chest and tried to push him away. He was solid and didn't seem to want to budge. "Wait," she gasped as he shifted his assault to her jaw and then down her neck. "Stop!"

He stilled and pulled away, leaning back to rest on his heels so that he could look better at her, "Are you going to deny me this?"

She hesitated, would she be able to deny him? There was a growl in his voice and she wondered if he do as she bid him. "Would you let me have control? Can I explore you?"

He had looked cross before, but her appeal to explore him seemed of please him to no end. "What type of exploration do you intend to do?"

She moved aside and tossed the blankets out of her way, she gave the bed a pat signaling for him to lay back in the spot she had vacated. He stretched out, doing as she bid, he slunk into the space like a cat and laid back against her pillows. "I've never had a lover before," she confided to him, "You are the first man that I have seen, much less had the opportunity to touch in any sort of intimate fashion. Will you deny me?"

"I am yours to do what you will to," he purred at her.

She swallowed, suddenly feeling her nerve slipping from fingers. She reached out a hand to touch him. She traced he fingers along the lines of his pectorals, they twitched and the bars the pierced through his nipples caught her attention. "What are these?" Curiosity was getting the better of her, she brushed her thumb around one of his nipples, pausing to roll the piece of metal beneath her finger.

"Piercings," he rumbled lightly, she seemed to have his full attention. He watched her with a half lidded eyes, one of his hands finding her knee and tracing its way up her thigh.

"What do they do?"

"They can make the pierced area more sensitive, personally I enjoy the look of them," he cupped her behind lightly, as if he were striving to distract her.

"Will you want me to get piercings?" The idea made her feel slightly queasy.

"It would be your choice, I wouldn't require you to. Just because I like them, doesn't mean you have to get them. You are your own person," he leaned forward to kiss her lightly. "Do as you will to me," he beckoned softly. She leaned into him, falling for the appeal of his mouth. Her hand drifted down his stomach, thrilled in the feel of power that seemed to flutter under her touch. She kissed him with a growing confidence, leading the depth and passion of the kiss.

Curiosity and hunger drove her, she pulled away from his mouth and skimmed lightly over his beard and found her way to his neck. He rumbled as she scraped her teeth against his skin, his skin was soft and the taste of him was something she couldn't place. There was a salty tang to his skin, something that she could find herself favoring. She followed the line of his neck down to his shoulder, biting lightly and drawing sharp breathes from the man beside her. Him saying that the piercings made him more sensitive and curious to test the theory she shifted to close her lips around one.

It drew another sharp breath from him and he pressed his hand between her thighs, not forcing the issue but just stroking her through her bloomers. She toyed with the metal bar with her tongue, she tugged on it lightly before releasing him and looked up to meet his gaze. "Enjoy them?" He rasped lightly, curling his fingers beneath the fabric of his undergarments. "Or are you enjoying teasing me?"

She took a breath as she felt him start to tease her in return, feeling brave she pushed her hand beneath the waist band of his pants and finding that he had no other garments beneath them. She flushed when she brushed her hand against the length of him, he was already erect. "If I knew what I was doing," she confided unsteadily, "I might enjoy teasing you more."

"Men are woefully easy to please," he smiled at her. "The sight of a beautiful woman and they become hard and the desire to stick themselves into anything willing is difficult to resist." He found her clitoris with little effort and began to brush his thumb back and forth over it. "All you really need to do is touch a man's cock, suck on it perhaps, and it's little effort to have him exploding all over the place. Women, on the other hand, are more complex." She became distracted, feeling the affects of his words and his teasing fingers. "You have to appeal to them about the idea and find all these hidden places to touch, to stroke, to taste to get them burning. But," he grinned at her, seeming able to tell that he had already stoked her flames. "I do enjoy puzzles."

"Suck on it?" She asked distractedly, finding it hard to not shift her hips and thrust herself against his hand.

He hummed low and she felt it rumble through his chest, "It is an idea, similar to what I did to you. Do you wish to try it?"

"How?" She breathed, curious and finding herself more than agreeable as he touched her.

"Don't be shy," he lifted his hips and with his free hand tugged his pants down just enough to expose himself to view. She gripped him, though even without her holding him she thought it was likely his hardened cock would have stood up on its own. "Stroke me and, if you are feeling adventurous, you can put your mouth on me. Suck lightly, don't be scared to use your tongue. Just be easy with the teeth."

She started to stroke him lightly a he had shown her the night before. The question was, was she feeling adventurous? She looked away from his face to the bit of him that she held in her hand. She kept stroking, twisting her hand as she neared the top of him. She felt scared, unsure of how to do it even after his brief instruction. She had come this far, though, and curiosity was getting the better of her. Finally, she leaned over his lap and closed her mouth around the head of his cock.

The taste of him seemed to be stronger as well as the smell of him. She mapped out the head of him with her tongue, sucking lightly. He hissed out a breath and gathered up her hair out of the way with his free hand. "Look at me," his voice was strained, "keep stroking." She looked up to meet his gaze, and though his eyelids would occasionally flutter closed he maintained eye contact. His hips bucked and more of his cock was shoved into her mouth. She stilled, looking at him wide eyed as he began to thrust his hips upward into her mouth.

He started to thrust too deeply into her mouth, going further than she was prepared and she started to gag. Panicking slightly, she jerked backward from his grasp and coughed. He sat up and cupped her face, brushing her hair back and tried to calm her. "You're alright," he soothed. "It's my fault, I'm sorry. Look at me," he brushed his thumbs over her cheeks.

She took deep breathes and focused on him again, "I'm happened?"

He looked embarrassed, "I got over zealous. I appreciate your efforts." He leaned forward to kiss her, "I think that we will have to experiment with that another time." He started to tug her night dress up, "Let me please you now." She nodded and allowed him to pull the garment off. He wrapped his arms around her and caught her mouth, she allowed him to press her back on the bed.

He pressed their bodies together, his hips between her thighs. The only thing that kept his cock from pressing between her nether lips was the damp fabric of her bloomers. She felt the heat of him and when he shifted his hips, his cock rubbed against her just right. His hips started a beckoning rhythm that the growing ache been her thighs bid her to follow. His mouth left hers and went to her throat, just below her ear. She heard his gasps and grunts, "Just a scrap of linen." He growled lowly, "That's all that's keeping me from this sweet pussy."

She flushed and shuddered, his words coupled with his actions started to sway her. He raised himself up on his hands, his hips baring down harder into hers. He was grunting with effort, he stiffened and shuddered. Hot liquid shot up and covered her stomach, she shivered as his hips kept thrusting though a tad jerkily. He shifted his weight back down to his elbows and kept up the friction. It was long until she tumbled into oblivion.

When he noticed that she had dropped off, his thrusts slowed to a stopped. He hovered over her, kissing and nipping along her neck and jaw. Then, with a whimper on his part, he pushed himself up and rose from the bed. "A fine mess we have made,"he sighed as he went to her basin and filled it with water. "It won't be long before we can move past this foreplay and onto more pleasurable fun." She watched him clean himself then tuck his waning cock away. He came back to her, cleaning the mess from her stomach. He didn't stop there though, he tugged the damp bloomers off of her and left her bare on her bed. "You are a vision of temptation, lesser men would find it difficult to deny themselves from taking advantage of a opportunity like this."

She propped herself up on her elbows, "What are you doing?"

He licked his lips and started crawl back up between her thighs, he propped a leg onto each shoulder, "Can I not have a final taste of you to tide me over?" He didn't give her the chance to say 'no,' he closed the distance and began to lap at her. He pressed two fingers into her, not really giving her adequate time to recover from the orgasm she had just experienced. He stoked her aflame again with his thrusting fingers and his mouth. It took him little effort to get her quaking and crying out with the intensity of it.

He has made short work of it and she was reconnecting with herself when she felt him dig his teeth into her thigh. She gasped out, because it hurt, and sat up as all the endorphins seemed to be banished with the pain he created. "Stop," she croaked, pushing at his shoulders. "You're hurting me!"

He released her, pulling back to inspect the mark he had created. There was an angry red ring mark he had created with his teeth and a deep violet color had taken up the center of it. He rubbed his thumb over it then leveled to meet her gaze, "Forgive me. I suppose I got carried away. Don't fret, it will heal."

She pulled the blanket up to cover her bare breasts, suddenly feeling exposed even after all that she had done to him and had allowed him to do to her. "Why did you do that?"

"Let us just say," he leaned forward. "I am staking my claim." He kissed her lightly, "I trust you to be chaste as you were before I met you. But, men can be weak willed as you can see." He brushed a hand through her hair, "Be angry if you must. But, I beg that you see me off tomorrow." She swallowed hard, but nodded. Her parents wouldn't be happy if she skipped seeing off her fiancé. "Sleep well then, my princess." With that he stood, picking up his shirt and pulling it back on. He went to the door, after listening for a moment, slid it open and left.

She looked down at the mark he had left on her thigh, it stung but it didn't look too terribly bad. What left her feeling uneasy was the words he had said. He was claiming her. She glanced at the candle he had left on her bedside table and leaned over to blow it out. She wrapped herself in her blankets, not wanting to leave their warmth to redress. She wasn't even sure if she would be able to stand after all that he had done to her.

Fearful, as she was, she still managed to drop off into sleep.

She awoke to a familiar situation, someone knocking on her door. She felt sluggish and achey, standing to go answer the door. She paused midway when she recalled her lack of dress. After a short detour to grab her robe she went to greet the castle steward. "Princess Sofia, Good morning! You need to get dressed, I will fetch Violet for you. Would you like me to fetch you some breakfast as well?"

She blinked as she struggled to process all that he had said, she shook her head. "No, I will get a snack after Victor has departed. I'm going to start getting ready to dress, thank you for waking me."

"Well, we both best hurry. Your family are currently finishing breakfast up now and I believe Prince Victor and his party will be ready to leave Enchancia in a little less than an hour," he peered down at his pocket watch. "Let me go fetch Violet."

She turned from the door, after sliding it closed, and hurried to get a fresh pair of bloomers and her night dress on. She didn't want to implicate that she had a visitor that night and if the hand maid saw her wearing less than she should be she might assume something. She cleaned her face and teeth, by the time she had finished the hand maid had tapped on her door and then entered. "We best hurry, Princess," she said as she went to her closet. "They are almost done preparing to leave. Do you have a gown you would like to wear for the day?"

"You pick, I'm going to squeeze into this," she held up her corset and then, after shedding her night dress, she proceeded to wiggle into it. The hand maid brought her a soft blush colored gown and made quick work of getting her into the corset and then the gown. She placed a silver crown upon Sofia's head, "There we go, lovely. You best go see off your prince."

She thanked the older woman and hurried her way through the castle to get to the front entrance. She slowed when she heard her father's voice start to carry through the hallways. They had come to the front foyer and paused as they discussed something. "It's my intentions to send out a force to begin harvest as soon as I return to Nigrum. The materials will be of great use to us. When do you think you could schedule your sorcerer to come out and assist with the reservoir?"

"Clear a big enough area for it and it can be done as soon as you need it," her father said.

"We will work on a concentrated area then. Give us five days and we will have a sizable area for it. I will be sure to contact you about it," Victor trailed off, turning to see her. He smiled and offered her a bow, "My princess! I feared you were going to over sleep!"

She resisted the urge to glare, because it would have been his fault that she didn't sleep well and he knew it, "Baileywick was nice enough to wake me. I just had to miss breakfast."

"That's a pity," the steward opened the door for them and Victor walked her through it after her mother and father. "But, at least you are here." He gave her a smile as her family lined up much as it had before along the step. He gave her hand a light kiss before leaving her to give parting words with each of her family members. She noted, though, as she watched him that his thanks and farewell with her mother was short. Her mother's smile looked forced and it looked as if Victor felt it. Had something happened between the two?

He spoke shortly with James as well, but there was no displeasure or forced conversation between them. Just an awkward farewell between two men that didn't appear as if they knew each other too well. Upon reaching Amber, he offered her hand a kiss. "Go easy upon your sister for me? I quite like her the way she is and this wedding talk you seem keen on having seems like it drive a person to madness," while it seemed insulting Amber waved it away.

"A wedding, especially a wedding for a princess, is supposed to be elaborate and beautiful. If you wanted me to go easy on her you should have given us more time to plan," she batted her eyes at him.

"Touché," he said uneasily, before ending up in front of her. He smiled at her, in a charming manner. "I know that I said I would behave myself, my princess. But, can I not beg for a kiss?"

She hazarded a glance to her family, whom all seemed to be watching. She swallowed hard and looked at him, "A chaste one."

"Ah, but it's still a kiss and I will take it," he leaned forward to press his lips against hers. And while it appeared chaste to those watching, his lips had been parted just enough for him to garner a real taste of her lips. When he pulled away she could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, "I have gifts that I intend to send you. Some books and a few other things that I hope you will like. Perhaps, you could see fit to write me?"

"How would I get letters to you?"

"I will help you that," her father pipped up.

Victor smiled at her, "Problem solved." He took her hand and kissed it, "Until we see each other again, my princess." With that he went down to his waiting carriage, pausing to give them a final wave before he boarded it and the door shut. She looked to the coachman, the familiar man connecting eyes with her for just a moment before he clicked at the horses and set them into motion.

"Four months," her mother said. "Is not a long enough engagement." She turned to walk back into the castle, "Roland, you shouldn't have agreed to it."

"Miranda, Sofia agreed to it, she was there," the King went to follow the Queen to quell anger that was brewing in her mother. This must have been part of the discussion they had been having and why her mother's politeness had been forced.

"Oh don't worry about that, Sofia," her sister took her arm. "We need to get to the tailor to see about a dress." And with that her sister swept her away for a day of tape measures and ideas of what would make a perfect wedding dress.

* * *

Had this done a few days ago, but for some reason it wasn't allowing me to upload it. Sorry about the technical difficulties. There's a reason why I find myself not including a lot of James in this story. I have this inexplicable urge to throw some Zandar/James in here. And MAN, it's been really hard to resist and not get side tracked. I'll have to see how long I deny my pervy urges and stick with the original idea. Someone wanna hit me with a rolled up newspaper so I stay on track?


	6. Chapter 6

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story is rated M for mature, meaning there is mature content ahead. While this chapter is safe, it's likely others are not.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

I made Cedric say shenanigans ;D

* * *

The next few days were occupied by Amber's insistence that planning was something they needed to do all day. For the most part, they spent the majority of the time discussing colors and flowers. "He favors black a lot, if we judge he fashion sense at all. But then, most men don't seem to have any appreciation of pastels. It's a shame, with his dark skin tone I bet he would look fabulous in cerulean or mint," the other girl sighed as she looked through a book that contained nothing but swatches of color.

She could only shrug her shoulders, not really able to speculate. "You know how I feel about purple," she could only offer. "Maybe we could do lavender and silver?"

"I know how you like purple, really you're almost as bad as he is with black. Think pink!"

"Honestly, I wouldn't prefer any pink," she winced when she saw her sister's expression. "You can have pink in your wedding."

"I will," she said with a huff. "And with all these complaints about this being too big or too much, I'm likely to out do your wedding."

"It'll be alright," Sofia smiled at her. "It wouldn't be your wedding if it wasn't big."

"Alright, you win. Lavender and silver," she sighed as she set the large book aside. "Have you given much more thought to flowers. I think, even with your color choices, white roses and calla lilies." She held up a lily for her inspection, "They're simply elegant and they go so well with one another."

"I don't know about the lilies," she sighed with a frown. "I like the roses, I do. Maybe, since my color scheme will include lavender we could put the lavender flowers in it with the white roses. That way, it's not totally washed out with white."

"The white is to signify purity, Sofia," her sister eyed her hard. "Unless you are trying to say you're not pure?"

"Amber," she grimaced at her. "I'm not trying to say that at all and you know it." She stood up from the table, they had been seated in the gazebo over looking the garden. The day had been seasonably warm, but they had been supplied with a cool enough breeze to not make it entirely unpleasant. "I need a break from all this, I'm going for a walk."

"Don't try to run off for too long," her sister warned her. "I'll find you. We still have fabric to discuss for your dress. And really you should consider yourself lucky that you wedding party was demolished by Victor's lack of an entourage that would be accompanying him. You would have bridesmaids dresses to consider, too. Now you just have to think about who you want to be your maid of honor? Me, Ruby, or Jade?"

She hesitated, she didn't know. "I'll have to think about it."

Amber pursed her lips together, seeing her indecision. "Out of the three of us Ruby is the most understanding and less likely to get her feelings hurt. I can't speak for Jade, though, in the event you do choose me to as your maid of honor I'll help you think of a way to include Ruby and Jade to keep either of their feelings from being hurt."

"Are you just making that offer because you want to be maid of honor?"

"Of course, but it's not just that. Ruby and Jade are my friends, too. And really, it would only be right to include them," her sister smiled sweetly at her.

"I'll think about it," she sighed. "We'll talk about it another time." That said, she made her escape. An escape was what it was. She wasn't sure how much more talk about wedding plans she could take from her sister. She found her way to the tower of her favorite person. She knocked on the door and waited patiently for him to answer.

The last time she had seen the Royal sorcerer had been at the ball where her engagement to Victor had been announced. She missed him. The door to his workshop opened and he peered at her narrowly, "Good afternoon, Princess. What can I do for you?"

She frowned at the formality, "I'm not really in need of anything. I was hoping that I could just visit?"

"I'm quite busy," he said sourly.

She winced and looked down, he had never really tried to turn her away before. She wasn't sure how to react, "I'm sorry. I don't want to be in your way." Her chest hurt and she turned away from him.

"Bugger," he grumbled and she heard his door swing open wide. "I don't even know why I bother trying. Fine, you win. Come in."

"Are you sure?" She felt unsure now, she eyed him uneasily. "You said you were busy."

"I am," he growled. "But, we both know that I'm not likely to get any bit of work done if you slink off as if I have kicked your puppy. Come. Visit."

She turned back and stepped into his workshop, "Why would my hurt feelings bother you?"

"Don't be foolish," he closed the door behind her, his expression set in a grimace. "You know good and well why it would bother me," he sat on his chair and went back to leafing through the tome that set on his work table. "I've got four days to figure out a way to make a reservoir replenish itself without any upkeep."

"Would you like me to help you look?"

He offered her a tome, "How very nice of you to offer to apprentice."

She sat down on her stool and took the offered book, this was something she enjoyed. She always liked looking through his spell books and seeing the various amount of magic that was amassed in their pages. The book he had given her had involved weather spells and at first she wasn't sure why he had given it to here until she found one, "Endless rain?"

"It would take maintaining otherwise it could go badly. Think flooding in massive amounts," he didn't even look up from his book.

"Is there a way to time a rain cloud, like have one arrive once a day?"

"The bad thing about nature," he still seemed to be buried in his text. "Is that if you try to manipulate it like that, it usually backfires. Nature is fickle and usually does not keep to a schedule."

She sighed and went back to turning through the pages. She was near the middle of the of the tome when they were interrupted, "Ceddykins!" She looked up to see his mother poke her head through portrait. "Oh, good! Princess Sofia, you're here, too! Morshak will be performing his séance tonight. Will you be joining us?"

"Yes," she said without a second thought.

"No," he said at the same time.

Her brows drew together and she turned to level a glare at the sorcerer, "I have questions. I can't ask them if I'm not there."

"He's likely to be holding this séance at midnight, because it's cliché. That will be far too late for you to be out," he shot back. "If you father finds out that you are out gallivanting about at that late hour, what do you think will happen?"

"This might be my last chance to save myself from this situation, are you going to deny me this?"

"And you may learn nothing from it, it is a wild goose chase," he said evenly, despite the hard glare from her.

"Now Cedric," his mother didn't leave the painting, but she did fold her arms over her chest and give him a disapproving look. "This could be the opportunity and evidence you are looking for to discount the Prince. How are you going to begrudge the princess this?"

"It is a wild goose chase," he gritted at his mother, before melting before their combined glares. "Fine! We will both come and I will show you the kind of rubbish that comes from talking with the dead. You will see for yourself that there is nothing to be gained with this." He wagged his finger at her and shot his mother a look, "If we are caught sneaking out and I am beheaded for trying to run away with the princess you will only have yourselves to blame!"

His mother only smiled sweetly at him, "Darling, that is still an option if only you would take it." With that the older woman disappeared back into the painting.

Her sorcerer flushed and turned back to the book he had been searching through, "We will be sneaking out. If you asked your parents to make a late night visit to Mystic Meadows, I'm sure they would tell you no."

"We can borrow a horse from the stables. I'm sure we can manage this without anyone finding out," she turned back to her own book. She was pursuing pages when she came across a spell, "Never ending spring."

He scooted closer to peer over her shoulder, "A fount of water that continues to flow into the boundaries of its well." He leaned closer as he read the specifics of the spell to himself.

She held her breath for a moment, suddenly distracted by just how close he was. His scent, a mixture of sandlewood and something she couldn't place, had always been something that she enjoyed. When she would hug him as a child, she would find a reason to bury her nose into his robes just to breath it in. Now though, after her experiments with Victor, having him so close his scent was having an entirely different affect on her. She clenched her thighs together and had to grasp her hands in her lap to keep from reaching out to touch him, she had always had a want for him but hadn't truly understood what it meant. She had a good idea now, she looked down at the table where he rested his hands. His fingers were long and graceful, how would they feel buried into her?

She released a shaky breath getting his attention, he looked at her curiously and raised an eyebrow. Her face was surely flushed, it felt hot, and she should feel embarrassed. But, she found herself instead wondering what he would do if she kissed him.

"This might work, good find. I will have to test it to be sure," he leaned away from her, back into his chair. "Are you alright?"

She nodded as she tried to get ahold of herself, "How would you test it?"

He stood, taking a moment to mark the page and hefted up the book, "Shall we make Dunwitty a new well or two to test it?"

She nodded as she struggled to rein in her desires. He went to the door and opened it for her, giving her a glare when she didn't move quickly enough for him. They managed to wrangle in a coach and was off to the village that wasn't too far from the castle. "Are you going to need anything to create a well?"

"I can conjure the rock and water with little effort," he retorted cockily. It had been a while since he had had any mistakes. While he still lived in his father shadow, he had started to find his way from under it. "The part I'm worried about is creating a spring from a drop of water." He looked about the surroundings, they were at the edge of town. "This is as good a spot as any, stop here coachman!"

The coach rolled to a stop and they both disembarked. With a flourish, that she was sure was just for her benefit, the sorcerer conjured a small stack of grey bricks. He used his magic to dig a small hole and then directed the bricks to form a handsome little well. Once done he looked back at her with a raised eyebrow and she started to applaud him. Even with as far as his magic had come, he still enjoyed the recognition.

He paused to create a simple water skin, it looked bloated and full, but he still took a moment to test it and make sure that it would be adequate to drink from. After taking a taste he nodded and motioned for her to bring him the book. A little juggling and he decided that it was best for her to hold it so he could manage the spell and the water skin at the same time.

He cast a drop into the well, "With this drop I shed into thee, I cast an endless spring to replenish me." A wave of his wand and the drop that splattered into the well grew. The well filled to the brim with clear, clean water.

"That was amazing!" She stepped to inspect the water in the well. "You are the best, Mister Cedric!"

"A clean well is one thing," he waved his wand again to conjure a bucket. "But let's see if it will replenish itself." He took the bucket and dipped it into the water until it was full then pulled it out. The water level didn't appear to change. Curiously, he conjured another bucket and handed it to her. After dumping the water out of his own, they both took the time to fill their respective buckets.

The water level still didn't change. "This looks like a success to me!" She smiled at him, "Do you think this will work?"

"The only way to know for sure is to try to use it on a reservoir, I will have to approach the king about creating one out of no where without cause other than testing this theory." He sighed heavily as they went back to the carriage, "This will require more experiments."

She flushed and sat across from him, normally she would sit beside him and enjoy his presence. But the word experiment sent visions of tangled bodies and the feel of a hot mouth. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes, feeling the wound on her thigh pulse. "Are you alright?" She opened her eyes to see his concerned expression and she worried that she might have done something other than blush when her thoughts had turned heated.

"I'm fine," she lied. "Are you going to make another well?"

"No, I think going back to my tower to see just what this spell will do is the better idea," he frowned at her and waved the coachman on to get them rolling. "You do know you're a horrible liar, right?"

She felt horrified and looked away, "I guess that's not something I should really make an effort to work on."

"Is there something you want to talk about?"

She didn't think he would appreciate the direction her thoughts had gone. She didn't want to elude to all the things that she had done and allowed Victor to do to her. While he had become something of a confidant as she had grown up, she wasn't sure this would be something he would want to talk about. "You don't want to know," she frowned and met his gaze. "Trust me."

He looked of concerned deepened, "Has he hurt you?"

"I'm that transparent?" She hid her face in her hands, not wanting to meet the questioning look on his face. "He hasn't hurt me. But, really… you don't want to know."

"You… You would tell me if he's harmed you, wouldn't you?"

"Yes," she sighed and looked at him. "I wouldn't just let him hurt me, look at all the trouble that I am going to find something negative about him." She felt uncomfortable with the hard look he was giving her, "The séance tonight, I'm going to it. Are you going to go with me?"

He grimaced, whether it was over the change of subject or the fact that she was hiding something from him, she wasn't sure. "I suppose that doesn't really give me much choice in the matter," he sighed. It wasn't long before they arrived back at the castle, he stood and exited the carriage. "How do you expect us to get there?"

"A flying horse," she stepped down from the carriage.

"Fine," he sounded exacerbated. "I don't see the point in arguing all the points about where and how we could get in trouble. I have a feeling you won't listen to any of them."

She smiled at him, for all his complaints he would still join her. "I'll be at your door at ten. Let's get there early in case there is anything we can do to help Mister Morshak."

"Yes, well, don't set your heart too much on it. You're not likely to get anything useful out of it," he gave her a polite bow before leaving in the direction of his tower.

She frowned, hoping that he was wrong and made her way into the castle. She had time to kill until dinner. She decided that the best place to go was her room, there was something about the pulse of the mark on her thigh that made her want to inspect it. She closed her door and went to her vanity, she sat carefully on the little stool and pulled up her skirts and petticoats. She had a hard time seeing it in all the lace.

She pulled a hand mirror from the drawer and used it as a means to spy the mark on her thigh. It didn't look as angry as it did the night he had given it to her, the purple bruise had started to fade. There was still a ring where his teeth had sunk into her flesh, it had scabbed over. She ran a finger along it and winced as it started to pulse again. Maybe she should ask for a healing salve for it? It didn't look infected. But, she felt it when she felt affected by the proximity of her sorcerer. When heated thoughts raced through her mind it seemed pulse.

How would had he been able to make her feel these things? She set down the mirror and rubbed at her thigh in irritation. She had never felt so physically aware of the opposite sex before Victor, even with as enamored with the Royal sorcerer as she was, she had never felt so overwhelmed with desire. Was it Victor's fault for introducing her to the feelings? Or was it her own?

She rubbed her face and would have sat there to dwell on the feelings longer if there wasn't a knock on her door. She stood and adjusted her skirts, putting them back in place. She went to the door to greet the castle steward, "Princess, it's time for dinner. Will you be joining the rest of your family in the dining room?"

She smiled, while it would be easy to revert back into sulking in her room she was sure it wouldn't help her mother's nerves. "I'll go down to the dining room. Thank you, Baileywick," she stepped out into the hall.

"Very good," he smiled in return, "I just need to hunt up your brother and that will be everyone."

"Good luck," she went down to dining room. When she got there the place settings had been consolidated for their little family. While she was back to sitting next to Amber, James's setting was next to her father and her mother was seated where Victor had been sitting for the last few days.

Her mother still appeared unhappy and, while she understood, she wasn't sure what her mother expected from the situation. She sat in her usual spot and looked at her mother with concern, "Hi, Mom. Is everything okay?"

Her mother smiled weakly at her, "They're fine as they could be given the situation."

"You're still upset?"

"Yes," her father answered for her mother, coming in to sit at the head of the table. "And trust me, it's not been easy on me." He leaned heavily on the table, "Your mother's made it quite clear she's not happy with the way things have been handled and just how quickly they are moving forward."

"I'm afraid that you've manipulated Sofia into accepting a man that's so much older than her," her mother sighed. "I voiced this opinion to you when you first told me he wanted her hand. And now you're rushing the wedding. You're ignoring all my concerns."

"Our own engagement was short, if you remember," her father pointed out.

"And this was the second marriage for both of us, that's the difference. We are both adults that know better."

"Miranda, if you would have heard your daughter you wouldn't be arguing with me. She negotiated the terms and conditions with Victor. I only added parts that I knew she wouldn't consider, she even garnered another gold vein for a farm that he requested for her sake," her father looked at her with pride. "The maturity that she used to handle the situation was admirable. Even when Aaron tried to put pressure on her to rescind her acceptance of the engagement."

"Mom," she started. "I know you're worried. But, Victor's been understanding and gentle with me." If she ignored his seduction and the bite mark on her thigh. "He's made an effort to make me more comfortable with the situation. If I rescind my acceptance now, after our engagement has already been announced he could take it as an insult. We don't know anything about the military force that his kingdom has."

Her mother smiled, seeming to see the maturity in her reasoning. "I'm happy that you see the political reasons in keeping the engagement. But, what the week before? Hm? When you were so set on not accepting that you were ready to denounce your crown and go back to being a commoner?"

"Did you really say that, Sofia?" Her father looked at her with apparent hurt in his expression.

"Honestly," her sister began as she came into the dining room. "I'm surprised she didn't try to run away. She seriously looked like she was ready to jump over the wall and run for the hills." She grimaced and glared at her sister, because the idea had crossed her mind and she had even plotted out a way out and where to go. Her sister sat beside her and smiled prettily at her, "But she's still here."

"Well," her mother caught her eye. "I trust you to do what's best."

"It's my duty," she said solemnly.

A hand came to rest on her own and she looked to her sister, "This is our duty."

James came in, breaking the overall mood of the room, "Dinner! Finally! I'm starved." He was fixing his coat before he sat down. "What's with all the sour faces? Brighten up!" With that the castle steward had dinner and their conversations had slowed and moved onto different topics.

Amber excitedly announced the progress on the wedding planning, "We'll have the ballroom decorated for the reception, which is a given and there's no use in arguing it."

"Arguing?" Her mother asked.

"I want the actual ceremony to be outside," she answered with a shrug. "If the weather is permitting the heat from summer should finally be breaking. It should be lovely out." She smiled at her sister, "Our gardens are nice enough to supply natural decoration and large enough to host a small wedding."

"Small," her sister grumbled. "You keep forgetting that all the kingdoms of the known world will be present to watch you get married. You should want to impress them."

Sofia winced, "I didn't think about that."

"The best course of action would be to send out invitations first," her father said. "It's very unlikely that every king will attend, they may send a noble representative in their place. I know the appeal to a small wedding, Sofia. But, you are a princess. Have a wedding like every little girl dreams about."

She found herself swallowing any retorts she might have had, this wasn't a wedding she was dreaming about. She couldn't find an answer for her father, so she forced her way through the rest of dinner. There was more talk of weddings, though they were kind enough to drift to what Amber intended for her own wedding and how everything would shine. James only seemed to roll his eyes and didn't bother to feign interest, he openly complained about the prospect of spending dinner for the next four months talking about nothing but weddings. She couldn't agree more.

Dinner ended with her staying until everyone had finished and dessert was served. She didn't have the appetite for it, so she opted for tea instead. The thought of having fewer days with her family made her want to stay and enjoy them, even enduring the conversation of her impending marriage.

They each rose and went their respective ways, though her father lingered. She pushed in her chair and waited a moment, "You want to talk, dad?"

He sighed and came around to the table to her, "I do. I know that with all of this its been overwhelming and something you weren't for. Trust me, your mother's done nothing, but remind me that this is an issue I forced on you." He looked pained, "But, I hadn't considered that you might try to run away from it."

She raised an eyebrow, the steward hadn't told him of her angry tantrum? Her mother hadn't told him that she would have rather been a commoner then be a princess forced to marry a man she didn't know? "I haven't run away," she said in her defense. "If I was going to, would I have gone through all the trouble of agreeing to accept Victor's offer?"

"No, probably not. But, I saw the look on your face when Amber mentioned it. You had considered it," he accused. "You looked guilty, as if it had been something you had been planning."

"I thought about it," she folded her arms over her chest. She would force him to hear the truth if he was going to pressure her for it. He would have to face all the things she was sure he didn't want to hear. "You can't blame me for considering it, can you? You are forcing me to marry a man I don't know and most definitely don't love for monetary gain. You've sold me to him all on his good word that he will treat me right and that's it. There's nothing holding him to it other than his word to you."

"He strikes me as a good man, he doesn't strike me as a man that would hurt a woman. I know you have fears and I can understand them. Amber's and James' mother felt the same way when we were first betrothed. I did all I could to put her fears at ease and it looks as if Victor's been striving to do the same." She bit her tongue, not wanting to tell her father what Victor had been striving to do while he was at the castle. "Will you give me your word that you won't run away?"

"If I was going to run," she said evenly as she looked at him. "I would have a already left and I wouldn't be here right now." It was a cruel thing to say and she could see him take it like a slap in the face. The only thing that kept her here, now, was the gnawing fear in her gut that if she did run. Victor would probably come to find her. "I'm going to go to bed. You don't have to worry, dad. This is all set in stone now, I've got no where I can run now."

With that said, she turned and left the dining room. It was an immature thing to do, but it helped alleviate the stress that seemed to be striving to suffocate her.

She retired to her room, shedding her gown and corset and going into her closet to find something a bit more adequate for sneaking out at a late hour. She donned a pair of dark violet trousers and she found a dark colored blouse to go over it. She found a brown riding coat and her boots seemed to set off the rest of her outfit. She contemplated herself in a mirror, remembering her fiancé complimenting the look of her in trousers. She had never really considered her attributes before, she had never really been given reason to. But, as she turned and looked at herself she found herself striving to find how Victor would be appealed to her over someone such as Hildegarde.

She sighed, this wasn't something she could dwell on. It was getting close to ten and she had to sneak her way to his tower. She exited her closet and paused by her vanity to tuck her wand up her sleeve. After lowering the lights, she went to the door to listen to be sure the hallway outside her door was clear. She opened the door when she heard nothing and peered out, it was dark. It didn't appear as if anyone was out there. When Victor had come to her room the night before he left it was as if he was dodging someone. She didn't remember guards patrolling down the hallway.

Deciding it was better to be overly cautious than sorry, she crept down the hallway. She watched every corner and shadow, straining to hear even the faintest footstep. It was slow going, but she managed to get to her sorcerer's tower before ten. She tapped lightly on his door and moved aside, keeping her attention on the stairwell behind her.

The door to his workshop opened and after a moment, seeing no one in front of his door, he stepped out onto the stoop clearly confused. She stepped up from her hiding place to stand beside him, "Hello, Mister Cedric."

He practically jumped out of his skin and shrieked in a manner she hadn't heard before. It was hard to stifle the laugh. "What the bleeding hell are you doing?" He snarled at her, "Are you trying to scare the life out of me?"

She struggled to keep her face straight, "No, I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you! I was trying to be sneaky. I didn't want to get caught sneaking out."

"Who would catch you?" He went back into his workshop. "You nor your siblings have never bothered sneaking out before. Really I doubt your father even has a notion to keep an eye on you after hours. Come in, though, before you startle someone else with your mastery of stalking in the dark."

She frowned then, following his order to enter his workshop. "Amber mentioned something about me wanting to run away. And I'm kind of worried now that dad might pay a little bit more attention."

"It would be a little late to run away now, don't you think?" He went back to his work table. The work table in question was littered with cauldrons of various sizes, all filled with water.

"That's what I said to him," she perched onto her stool as she watched him turn through the spell book that they had gotten the 'Endless Spring' spell from. "I didn't recall there being a guard patrol through the hallway where our bedrooms were, but a few nights ago I thought I saw a light pass by my door. So I assumed that was what it was."

He stilled in his search of the book, though he didn't look at her. "You saw a light pass by your door?"

She nodded, watching him curiously. "If it wasn't a guard, I suppose it could have been a ghost. It's not really that time of year, but maybe they get bored?" She leaned close to peer at the book, "What are you doing? Still testing the spell?"

He looked uncomfortable for some reason, but he went back to the task at hand, "No, no actually the spell works quite well as you can tell." He waved a hand towards his table, motioning to all the water filled containers. "I'm looking for a counter spell so I can get my cauldrons back."

She peered at the grandfather clock that occupied his workshop. "Can we work on it later?"

"Tomorrow," he griped as he stuffed a wand up his sleeve. "I have a feeling that after we are finished with this leg of your wild goose chase that it will be well past reasonable working hours."

"Are you ready to go?" She was nearly bouncing in her seat, she was excited to see what the ongoing of a séance was and hoped that this would reward her with something.

"Yes, fine, lets go before you bounce off the stool," he complained. "You don't need to get your hopes up, I've been telling you that these things are not at all reliable." He took her to the door, opened it, ushered her out then followed, pausing to close and lock the door. He lead her down to the door that exited into the garden rather than the castle. It made it easier to sneak out and she was overjoyed that he was being cautious about this.

Once in the gardens, she led the way to the stables. She made short work on saddling a stallion, she paused to brush his mane. "Do you think you can carry two?"

The stallion snorted and then cast a curious glance back at the sorcerer, "Does he weigh anything? He looks skinny. I can handle carrying the both of you without a problem. Name's Casius, Princess. Are we off to find trouble?"

She smiled as she buckled his bridle into place, "Not really. Just a late night ride." She started to walk him out of his stall. "I hope you don't mind?"

The horse snorted again, hoofing at the ground as she led him out of the stable. "I guess that's better than nothing."

"Why is he making all that noise? This beast is going to carry us to Mystic Meadows? Can he handle the both of us?" He followed them, "I'm not comfortable with this!"

"It'll be fine," she smiled at him. "C'mon, I'll help you up." He grimaced at her and she helped him unsteadily get into the saddle. She easily got up in front of him and turned to see an uncomfortable expression on his face. "It'll be fine. Just hold on and we'll get there in no time."

He grimaced as he put his arms around her waist and held onto the horn of the saddle, "This is highly inappropriate. If we are caught, the trouble I will get into."

"If you're worried cast a camouflage spell on us," she said over her shoulder as she directed the big stallion to a clear area for him to take off from. Once they were in the sky, her sorcerer clung more tightly to her and she fought not to enjoy the closeness. He didn't bother with the spell.

Unlike her ride with Victor, Cedric kept his hands firmly on the horn in front of her. His arms were still around her and she felt him tense behind her. "I didn't think you were afraid of heights," she shouted back at him.

"I'm afraid of losing my head if I am seen so close to a princess," he snapped in her ear.

She wilted a little, but kept them on course to Mystic Meadows. The retirement community for aging sorcerers loomed below them, it hadn't been hard to see. The grouping of cottages glowed with the magic, surely used by the people that retired there. "This is it, Casius. Let's try to land in that clearing outside the gate."

He landed gracefully and trotted to a halt so they could dismount. "You can let go," she offered when he didn't seem to want to break his hold on the the horn of the saddle. "We're on the ground."

"What?" He released the saddle, "Right, yes. Let's get off this beast." She easily slid off the winged horse then turned to assist him. He brushed her off, looking irritated, "Let's meet mother in her cottage then we can go to do this nonsense you've insisted upon."

"Alright," it was bothersome to hear him be so negative about this. She followed him to his parents cottage. Once they got there, he knocked and his mother answered.

"Oh good, Ceddy, I wasn't sure you were going to come," his mother said as waved them in. "Princess Sofia! It's so good to see you! I hope you are doing well," she came and gathered her arm, wrapping it around her own. "I don't imagine you have been audience to a séance before?"

"No, ma'am. This will be my first. Mister Cedric's already warned me that they can be unreliable."

"Well, I wouldn't say that they are unreliable. Sometimes it depends upon the spirit you contact. It can depend on their death, if you come into contact with someone who has had a traumatic death they dwell upon and have a hard time remembering past it." Her face grew serious, "Necromancy is not a type of magic that is encouraged. While dear Cedric was still at Hexley Hall they were no longer offering it in the curriculum."

"Is there a reason why?" She was curious, even though she wasn't entirely sure what Necromancy was.

"Some sorcerers occasionally get too big for their britches and start to think themselves all powerful. When they put an army of undead warriors behind them, they become fairly difficult to stop," Winifred waved it off as if the idea in itself wasn't terrifying. "The Council soon determined that it was best to no longer offer it and limit the number of chances of having to deal with maniacal wizards trying dominate the world."

"But, Mister Morshak knows how to do a séance?"

"Communicating with the dead and raising the dead are two different things, however they are still within the field of necromancy. Also, Morshak is quite old," she said with a nonchalant shrug. "I'm more than sure he received his education in the art before it was well… Outlawed."

"Is what he doing illegal?"

"Not entirely illegal," his mother smiled.

"Just heavily frowned upon," her sorcerer piped up. He had moved around them and made his way into the kitchen. He stood at the stove, working to concoct himself a cup of tea from the steaming kettle. "Does father know about this?"

"He does and he's assisting to ensure things do not get out of hand," his mother assured him.

"What's the Council?"

"The Council of Six," Cedric began. "Are a council of six of the most formidable sorcerers in the world. They police the sorcerers of the world to make sure that we aren't doing things that we ought not to do. Domination and what have you."

"I wouldn't call it policing, they don't make an effort to step into affairs if a certain sorcerer were to take over a kingdom. They do, however, step in if said sorcerer would attempt to the entirety of the world," his mother said with a smile.

"Why try to take over a kingdom?" She asked curiously.

"Oh, never you mind," he snapped at her. "No one is taking over any kingdoms. Now let's get this mess over with so we can get back to Enchancia and go to bed."

The three of them stepped out of the cottage and Winifred led the way to a bonfire. A lot of the inhabitants of the retirement village was present milling about it. The sorcerer in question sat before the fire, he had his eyes closed and appeared to be focusing himself. Winifred led the way to him, clearing her throat loudly before speaking. "Morshak, deary, Princess Sofia has joined us for the event."

The elderly man opened his eyes and smiled brightly before standing. He wheezed a little and stretched until his back gave an loud pop. "Good evening, Princess," he held himself up on his staff. "Your just in time. I was going to get started. But, seeing as to how you are here is there anyone in particular you would like me to look for?"

"Yes," she tried to quell her excitement, but found it to be a struggle. "Daval Prestor."

"Well alright," he straightened. "You ready, Goodwin?"

Cedric's father came to join them, offering her and his son a nod. "The sky is clear for it and the moon is full. Let's see what information we can hunt up, shall we?"

The two sorcerers moved to the head of the fire, Goodwin handled two pouches and began to toss what looked like herbs into the flames. Morshak pulled his wand out and began to speak, "Hades! Lord of the Dead, keeper of the damned! I command access to those you have dominion over!" The fire flared, the color deepening to a sickly green hue. "I command that you deliver to me the soul of Daval Prestor!" They waited, her breath held as she watched the flames flicker. The two sorcerers exchanged looks then Morshak tried again, "Hades! Give me the soul of Daval Prestor!"

The fire continued to flicker offering nothing other than the odd shade and the heat. "There is no soul by that name," Goodwin observed. "Should we try another?"

"Daval Prestor was credited for starting the war between Rudistan and Enchancia. There's no way he can still be alive," she argued.

"If he were dead, he would be here," was her answer. "Is there anyone else that you know to call upon?"

She felt at a loss, looking at the green flames and wondering where to go from there. "I don't know," she fought the urge to cry. "That was the only lead I had."

The two sorcerers exchanged a look before Morshak nodded and began again. "I seek a spirit that can educate us about Daval Prestor!"

The flames swirled up, creating a funnel. It was mildly terrifying to watch. Though, none of the other people present looked afraid or bothered it. The funnel shifted to form a body and slowly the details became evident. Before them, a man stood in elaborate garb. Though, instead of having his head on being on his shoulders he held it under his arm. "Name yourself!" Morshak commanded.

"Cornelius Wentworth, steward to King Mathis the Third of Rudistan," the specter answered, seeming unbothered by the fact that he was being commanded, or that he held his head under his arm.

"You know of the man Daval Prestor?"

"Do I? That beast of a man came to call upon King Mathis with riches and gifts from a kingdom from beyond the Black Mountains. The exchange seemed quite promising, because all he asked for was water and lumber. All simple things compared to what he offered," the ghost offered.

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rising, she looked to Cedric and he seemed unconcerned. "What happened?"

"The trade went very well for months, they cleared lumber around the mountain range with a swiftness that left us puzzled. There was no men we knew that could work so quickly and efficiently," the ghost paused for a useless breath, looking bored as he told his story. "The trade with Prestor was quite lucrative, especially for Rudistan. He became a friend to King Mathis and spent quite a bit of time in our kingdom, so of course he also became acquainted with Princess Ethelgyth." There was a sudden fondness that took his expression as he spoke, "Ethie's beauty was known throughout the known kingdoms. She had been promised to King Edward of Enchancia after his first wife had passed with his heir. The affairs with Enchancia was shaky at best. Their King had always had little patience for Mathis, he had this horrible desire to be the man on top. Edward always struck me as a prideful man, so of course they butted heads quite often."

"This isn't pertinent to what has been asked of you," her sorcerer complained. "We didn't ask for a history lesson."

"History," the ghost said with a sniff, "should be learned or else it will be repeated."

"What happened with the Princess and Prestor?" She asked, though somewhere she knew the answer.

"Prestor demanded her hand in exchange for riches that Mathis had never seen," the ghost replied. "So, Mathis was quick to break the Princess' engagement to Edward and give her hand to Prestor. Of course, I'm sure you know, the war ensued soon after."

"What does this have to do with you and Nefarius?" He snapped at her, "After the war was settled Enchancia and Rudistan created an Alliance that has been intact ever since."

"Do you know if Prestor has any relation to Nefarius?" She asked, ignoring the complaints of the man beside her.

The ghost blinked then made a face to show his disgust, "Nefarious? No, the only person we ever dealt with was Prestor."

"What happened after the war started?"

"As soon as Prestor had Ethie's hand secured he spirited her away to his kingdom, I assume. After combat truly began with Enchancia, he disappeared and his goods stopped flowing into Rudistan," the ghost said mournfully. "The war was trying and many lives were lost. When King Mathis realized that his friend Prestor had abandoned him and the chances of him winning the war with Enchancia were slim he approached Edward to publicly apologize and appeal to him to end the war."

"What happened to the Princess?" She asked as she took in all the information the ghost offered. "What happened to her?"

"Both kings sent teams to retrieve the Princess past the Black Mountains, none of them returned and it was assumed that they had perished," he supplied. "We have no idea what he did to the princess."

"How did you lose your head?" Cedric questioned.

The ghost sneered, "I was, unfortunately, blamed for a lot that occurred during the trade and ensuing war with Enchancia. I was a sacrificial lamb so royal egos could continue living unbruised."

"Can we contact Princess Ethelgyth?" She looked to Morshak.

"We could try, the night is still young," he looked at the presence in the fire. "Your task has been completed, return to your rest with our thanks!" The fire swelled and the funnel of flames returned. "Hades! Give me the soul of Princess Ethelgyth of Rudistan!" The funnel of flames swelled large and a wail was heard.

No visible ghost occupied the flames, but tortured cries rang through her ears. It made her heart ache. She covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut trying to keep the keening sound from affecting her so. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Winifred beside her. The sorcerers that had handled the séance quickly dismissed the wailing flames and the fire died back down to the size of a reasonable bonfire. "Sometimes," the older woman began. "If their death was harsh and traumatic it's not something they can move beyond."

"She wouldn't have offered us any information," Goodwin began as he started packing up the supplies they had used to summon the spirits. "If we had continued to allow her to wail it is quite likely she could have broken free and become a banshee."

"The spell was broken, but we could begin again if you like?" Morshak offered.

"It's getting late, we should head back to the castle," her sorcerer said.

She hesitated, "I don't know who else to ask, she was the next lead and... and... I don't know where to go from here. How could Daval Prestor not be in the realm of the dead?"

"The only way to not be in the land of the dead is to be alive," Morshak replied, "I know the war was centuries ago, but if he has an education in magic it's possible to escape death with magic."

"The Council frowns upon that, you know," Goodwin commented off hand.

"Ah, but they haven't kept prevented me from using the magic," the other sorcerer answered with a smile. "Are we done then?"

She looked to the sorcerer beside her and was met with a glower, wincing she looked back to the other two, "I guess so. There's no words that can express how grateful I am that you did this for me. Is there anyway I can repay the effort?"

The man that directed the séance waved a hand, "Don't worry about it, my dear. It's been so long since I had a real reason to do one, that I quite enjoyed it. I hope you gathered some information from it, though. I know Wentworth didn't really supply a lot of new information. And the Princess, well... that was unfortunate."

"I actually got a lot of information from it," she smiled, she felt her sorcerer wrap a hand around her elbow and give her a tug. "I've got to go, but... thank you, Mister Morshak. Mister Goodwin." Both of the elderly sorcerers smiled and bowed to her.

She turned back to her sorcerer and they both wound their way back to his parents house at his insistence. His mother electing to stay behind. "I need to pick something up that I had mother working on. It will be just a moment, you can wait here," he left her in their parlor. She waited patiently looking at the quaintly decorated room, there were pictures and awards that decorated the walls. Though, as she pursued them she regretted that she didn't see any of Cedric or the rest of his family. She knew he had a sister, he only mentioned her in passing, but surely there would be a picture of them all together as a family. Only, there wasn't. Had they lived their lives in the shadow of his father's career? The idea made her heart hurt, another reason for her sorcerer to be so bitter.

He came back into the room and took her by the arm, he seemed slightly flustered and she was curious of the cause. "Is everything alright?"

"It's fine," he snarked, he had been shoving a wrapped parcel into his robes as he stalked over to her. "We've all been up entirely too late for these... shenanigans and it's time that we retire so that everyone else can as well." He led the way out, not giving her the opportunity to speak to his mother or any of the other residence of the magical retirement community. She was confused.

"Why are we rushing home?"

"Because I don't want to tempt fate more than I already have!" He snapped at her, "If we are caught sneaking out then someone will assume something." She supposed that was a possibility. "If your father finds out that I have been doing more than just teaching you magic then it could cost me my position, not to mention my head. I've heard enough of it from my father that I humor you too much. I would rather not live too dangerously."

She frowned and followed him out of the cottage and back to where they had left Casius. The horse stood in the field not far from the entrance of the community chomping happily on the long grass. "Casius!" She waved at him as they approached, "I hope you don't mind us leaving you out here for so long." She brushed her hands through his mane, "You're not too tired, are you?"

The horse snorted, his ears going back, "I like the late night adventures, princess. If you want to do this again, just let me know so I can get a nap in before hand."

She chuckled and looked back to her sorcerer, he glared, "I don't know if I want to know what he said. He's not going to fall asleep mid flight, is he?"

"No," she said. "He just said he enjoyed the late night flight. C'mon I'll help you up into the saddle." There was a little bit of an awkward struggle on his part getting back into the saddle, but she didn't think twice about it. She hopped up into the saddle in front of him and coaxed their mount out of the field and into the air.

Cedric's arms were around her and he had a tight grip on the saddle's horn, the closeness was comforting. "Did you even get anything useful from that?" His voice was so close to her ear and she tensed for a moment. She closed her eyes and nodded, leaning back against him. "Do not go to sleep," he growled, releasing the saddle horn with one hand to wrap his arm fully around her waist. "I am depending on you to steer this beast back to the castle."

"Sorry," she sighed as she looked back to the horizon. It was more difficult to fly in the dark. But, with the stars and the brightness of the moon overhead she made due. "I know you're saying this was a wild goose chase, but I learned a lot. It's just terrible that the princess wasn't able to offer any information."

He cleared his throat, "It's as mother said. If a person's death was particularly gruesome it can carry over with them into the afterlife. If they had allowed the wailing spirit to go on for too much longer she would have began to draw power from the people present and indeed become a banshee. While they aren't entirely difficult to deal with a newly formed one would have likely caused a few of the people present to perish."

"I wonder what could have happened to her to create such... anguish," her thoughts pulled her away from the enjoyment of his presence wrapped around her. "Does this mean Prestor tormented her until she died?"

"It's likely," he supplied. "It could have been worse, though we won't know."

"What kind of monster does this?"

"That's not something you should dwell on," he gave her side a light pat. "There is a lot of evil in this world, we have been fortunate enough to only witness a fraction of it. All we can hope for is that the world's evils will stay at bay." She nodded, when she spotted the castle they called home she steered the stallion carrying them in that direction and to take a lower altitude.

They landed easily and she directed the horse back towards the stables, "But you gathered something from the history lesson?"

She nodded, "A few things." She started to slide out of the saddle before realizing he still had a hold of her. "You're good to let go. We need to get Casius back in his stall."

He released her and the horn of the saddle then awkwardly dismounted the horse, turning to assist her down. "Tomorrow, you're going to tell me what you gathered from all that rubbish," he commanded.

"Alright," she started to remove the saddle from the horse. "Can I go with you to create the reservoir?" She put the saddle up then gently unbuckled the bridle from the horse's muzzle. "Maybe I could help?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "You'll have to ask your father. If he's okay with it, I won't argue. I suppose you could make yourself useful."

She walked the horse can to his stall, took the time to brush out his coat. "Moral support at the very least," she smiled back at him. She looked back at the horse, "Any sort of snack I can get you?"

"Do you have any apples up your sleeve?" He asked with a snort, "Apples would be a good late night snack." She chuckled lightly and pulled out her wand, conjuring a small bundle of apples in his stall. "Thanks," he said cheerily.

She walked back out to her sorcerer, "That's done, now we just need to sneak back in the castle without being caught."

"Easily done with your master sneaking skills," he turned away from her and led the way back to his tower. He opened the door for her and let her lead the way up the stairs. She dawdled as he went about unlocking the door to his workshop. She caught his glare, "Go to bed. Quit tempting fate."

She wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, squeezing tightly, "Thank you." He tensed in the process, but relaxed and leaned into her embrace.

"I don't see how you'll use any of the information you gathered," he said lowly. "But, you will tell me what you've found?"

She nodded, before slowly releasing him. She didn't resist the desire press a kiss against his cheek, "After lunch. Good night." She turned and went into the main hallway to find her way to her bedroom, the late hour had begun to catch up with her.

"Good night, Princess," followed her and she sighed, wishing their situation was different.


	7. Chapter 7

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story is rated M for mature, meaning there is mature content ahead. While this chapter is safe, it's likely others are not.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

Sorry this one took me a bit too long to get out. I've gotten distracted, sorry.

* * *

She heard a knocking at her door and decided to just ignore it, burying her nose into her pillow and pulling the blankets over her head. She heard the door slide open and then a distinct sigh. "Really, Sofia? You're still in bed?" She heard the heels of her sister's shoes clicking on the floor. "Get up! You've missed breakfast and we need to go over the design for your wedding dress!"

She elected to ignore her. She felt the weight of her sister cause the bed to shift, just a little, "Are you going to make me get the maids to pull you out of bed?"

She groaned, "Have I ever kept you from sleeping in?"

"No," her sister tugged the blanket from over her head. "But, I'm not the morning person you are. Where's your chipper attitude?"

"I was up late," she shoved the pillow over her head to shut out the brightness of the sun. "What is so important that you have to wake me up?"

"What were you doing up late? And, it's as I said. I have the sketch of what your wedding dress is to look like and I thought you might want to see it, unless you would rather me judge it by myself," she said sweetly.

She sighed in defeat, because when Amber was set on something she wouldn't leave it be until she got what she wanted. She rolled over and sat up, tossing the pillow aside. "I won't let you sleep in ever again," she glowered at her sister.

"Oh, you don't mean that. Plus, you have a limited amount of time to extract your revenge," she smiled prettily. She then held up a piece of parchment that held the sketch of what would become her wedding gown. "Take a look and tell me what you think. Be brutally honest, because well... it's for your big day. You want to love it."

The bodice looked to have the familiar boning and piping along it. Lace was depicted along the top of the bodice and the shoulders, the sleeves going off the shoulder and going a quarter of the way down her arm in a lacy bell. The skirt was broad and intricate with lace and other embellishments. What trailed behind it looked like more lace. The gown, on paper, looked beautiful.

"Madam Collette will be able to make this look even more impressive, of course you know that," she supplied. "But as you can tell, the vision she has is fabulous."

"It is," she agreed as she gazed at sketch.

"So, do you have any requests or things you'd like her to add?"

She shook her head, "I can't think of anything that I could possibly add that wouldn't take away from how beautiful it will look."

"I knew you'd love it," she smiled. "Are you ready to get up? She'll need your measurements, just to be sure that you haven't grown or put on any weight since the last gown she made for you."

She frowned at her sister, "Let's not pull any punches, Amber. Over the past few months, if I've done anything it's lose weight."

"C'mon, get up. You can take a nap later. I'll get your maid in here to help you dress then we can go down to the tailor to have your measurements done. Then all that's left for you to do is wait for her to make it to try it on," she stood up and went to the rope cord by the door. "I've already had the invitations set to be made. After a day we'll go inspect them before they are mailed out." She gave the cord a tug, "You've already done the hard part. All that's left is for us to put everything together and the wedding date to get here."

She grimaced, "Tomorrow I'll be busy."

"Busy doing what?"

"Mister Cedric is going to the border to make a reservoir for Victor's kingdom," she fidgeted with her blanket. "I am going with him to help."

"How could you possibly help?" Her sister helped, "Why does he even need help? He's the royal sorcerer. He should be able to handle these things."

"He can, but I want to go. C'mon don't give me that look. I don't even begrudge you when you do things you like," she tried not to whine.

"Sometimes I think you hang around that stuffy old man because you have a thing for him," she grimaced as she turned to open the door, with almost impeccable timing. Violet was on the other side.

She glared at her sister, not offering her a retort, and watched as she primped then walked out of her room. "Is everything alright, Princess?"

She nodded, "She's just trying to get under my skin. I need to dress for the day, but I need to keep it simple. I'm going to have to go to the tailor for measurements."

"Alright, let's get you dressed straight away then," her maid went to her closet and she pulled herself from her bed, going to her basin to clean herself up. Violet made short work of dressing her, they went with a lighter, simpler corset that she could manage to shed and don on her own if necessary. They also went with a simpler dress, though she was sure Amber would protest. She thanked her and hurried to catch her sister.

The quicker they got this done, the sooner she could share with her sorcerer the things that she had learned from the night before. Amber was in the kitchen, where she was grateful to find her. She offered her a light pastry, "You can eat and walk. We have a coach waiting for us." She did just that, scarfing down the confection in a less than princessly manner. They were out the door and into the coach so quickly that she thought her head might spin.

They got to the tailor and they immediately helped her undress. She stood on a pedestal in nothing but her shift, waiting uncomfortably as they began to measure her. Measuring tape went around her chest, across her breasts, and there was a light tut from the girl. Apparently her bust had grown some. They had her stretch her arms out and measure one side, then the width of her upper arm. She felt on display, though she didn't feel disturbed until they measured her hips and then, for some odd reason, they decided to measure her inseam.

She gasped, as did the girl with the measuring tape. She spotted the mark on her thigh. Sofia grabbed the hem of her shift and pressed it back down to her knee. "What is it?" Her sister questioned seeing the distress in both her sibling and the girl.

"T-there's a mark on her," she stuttered.

"It's nothing," she insisted and she saw Amber's eyes narrow.

Her sister wasn't deterred and came over to pull the hem of her shift upward, exposing not only her thighs, but her bloomers as well. The bite mark on her thigh was visible for all to see; though there was only herself, her sister, the girl measuring her, and Madam Collette present to view it. "Sofia," her sister looked up at her.

"Who would do this to you?" The tailor demanded, "The king should have his head!" She flushed in embarrassment, "It's not like that!"

"Victor did this?" Her sister asked, she eyed her suspiciously then tilted her head to look at the mark. "It's a lover's mark is all it is," she said for the sake of the other two women. "Her husband to be may have gotten a little over zealous with their romantic interlude." She dropped her shift and looked at the girl doing the measurements, "Why are you even doing an inseam? She's being measured for a gown, not trousers."

"S-sorry, she said to get all her measurements. That what I was doing," she immediately stepped away. "I'm finished," she looked to the tailor then handed her the scrap of parchment. "I-is there anything else I can do to help?"

"That is quite enough," the elderly woman decided, seeming to be just as miffed with her helper as the princesses. "I will call you if I need more of your help." She came to Sofia, looking flustered as well. "I am so sorry, princess. Tiffany is quite new and can be literal with some of the directions she takes. I will begin work on your wedding dress."

"It will be fine," she answered, trying to quell the worry that knotted up her gut.

"Let's just be sure," Amber started, as she eyed the older woman. "That this doesn't leave the shop."

"Of course," the tailor curtsied to them.

They quickly helped her redress. Then Amber directed her out of the tailor's shop. They boarded the coach again and started back to the castle. "Why do you have a bite mark on your leg, Sofia?"

She swallowed and didn't meet her gaze, "He bit me."

"Do you know why he bit you?"

She flushed, "I think he said he was marking me as his."

"Well," she pulled her fan out and used it as a means to cover her own blush. "When you go to see Cedric get him to give you something to take care of that. While we can demand the girl to keep quiet, we can't really guarantee that she does." She snorted then, not so prettily, "She didn't strike me as being very bright, she may claim you are a vampire now or something ridiculous like that."

"Just what I need, a rumor about me," she sighed, finally braving a look at her sister. "Is this going to stay between us?"

The other girl shrugged once, "I see no reason to tell this to anyone else. I was just worried, I guess, when I saw it. It didn't really look like a lover's mark."

She nodded, "It hurt, I don't think there was anything sexual about it or the intent behind him putting it there. I... I don't know why he did it."

"Perhaps he thought it would deter anyone else from going there. An issue of trust, maybe?" Amber offered, watching as the gates to their castle loomed ahead. "Though, I don't see the point in doing that to you. Even if this is an arrangement you don't want you've always been fiercely loyal and you've always been true to your word. But, he may not know that." She gave her a hard look, "Don't allow him to hurt you, again. If necessary threaten to go to Daddy with it. You're better than that, Sofia. No man, no matter his station, has a right to hurt you."

She smiled slightly at the compliments, "Thanks Amber."

When they pulled to a halt in front of the castle and the door to the carriage was opened, they went their separate ways. She found her way to her sorcerer's tower, not entirely sure on the time but after the embarrassment at the tailor's she needed some relief. She knocked on his door and it only took a moment for him to come to the door. "It's not past lunch, yet," he snarked.

"Amber didn't let me sleep in," she complained.

He rolled his eyes then opened the door wider, allowing her to enter. "So I must suffer as well?"

"You didn't go through the awkward situation of having to be measured for a wedding dress," she stomped her foot as she glared at him. "I would hardly call me coming to pay you a visit as any sort of suffering!"

He raised his hands up, placatingly, "Calm down. Perhaps, you should consider a nap if you're going to come in here with attitude."

She deflated, "I'm sorry."

He snorted at her, closing the door and going to his desk. He pulled his wand from his sleeve and summoned a small tea set, the kettle already steaming. "You are fortunate that I am in a tolerant mood," he warned, plucking up a summoned teacup. "Otherwise I would send you on your way." He went back to his book that he had been pursuing, it appeared he was still looking for a means to undo the spell he had cast on his cauldrons and various other containers. They still littered his work table filled with water.

She picked up her own tea cup and took a long pull of the hot liquid. It warmed her and the caffeine in it made her feel a little less aggravated. She watched him as her mood seemed to shift, knowing that lack of sleep and other things were looming on the horizon. "Have you tried a reversio spell?"

He paused then shot her a look over his shoulder, she gathered he hadn't thought of it. He stood and waved a wand at the closest cauldron, "Reversio!" The water drained from the cauldron he had pointed his wand at. He stood there for a moment, the irritation clear on his face, "Thank you for apprenticing."

"Do you need a nap?"

"Very funny," he sat back down and started to enjoy his tea. "It is your fault that we are both tired. There is no need for your remarks to go with it." She couldn't keep from smirking at him, he glowered at her then sighed. "You are forgetting the reason behind your visit. What did you learn from the séance beside the nonsense?"

She sighed, relaxing and starting to enjoy her tea, "Victor request lumber and water, like Prestor did. He brought things that we've never seen before, side from the gold and truesilver. He offered the truesilver and the gold for my hand."

"But who would he be striving for us to go to war with? You weren't promised to anyone? While I won't pretend that Roland isn't arrogant enough get offended by something silly-"

"You mean like when the King of Freezenberg tried to get Victor to take Hildegarde instead?"

"-I wasn't aware of that. But, arrogant he may be, I still don't think he would be foolish enough to start a war over something like that," he finished. "When did the other offer come in?"

"During the ball, King Aaron offered Hildegarde to Victor and Emperor Quan offered Jun. He turned down both of them, though, the day after King Aaron was there to apply pressure to me to get me to rescind my acceptance," she paused to reach over and pour herself more tea, mixing in a healthy dose of sugar for good measure. "Hildegarde wants to be a queen. Victor told me later that it will probably be some time before he gets the chance to become king."

"The same trade goods and a power hungry princess does not create a war," he began to wave his wand the various containers, emptying each of water. "If he is up to foul business he would need to try harder to create a war. Roland is not a man that is easily pushed into something like violence."

"But he's easily bribed into giving his daughter away for enough gold," she winced, her mood souring again. With that realization she grimaced, "I am probably going to need some chasteberry."

"That would explain the attitude," he stood. "Life was so much easier before you hit puberty," he sighed as he went to his potions cabinet. "Anything else, Princess?"

"Do you have a healing salve, too?"

"A healing salve?" He looked at her curiously. "Did you get pricked by the tailor?"

"Uh... well, no," she winced. "Do you have one?"

"I do," his eyes narrowed, "Why do you need it?"

She frowned, "I was bitten and it's been irritating me, so I thought I would ask if you had something that could help?"

"A bite? What kind of bite? Let me see it."

"It's an animal bite," she flushed, clenching her hands together against her thighs. "And it's in an intimate spot. It would be inappropriate to show you."

He glowered at her for a long moment, before reaching into his cabinet to pull out a small jar and a vial. "You're hiding something from me and I can't figure out why. You've never been very accomplished at lying and you have always been an open book. Why start hiding things now?"

"Your friendship is important to me," she answered honestly. "I have depended on your honesty and even your sarcasm for so long, the idea of disappointing you or angering you really... outside of your normal irritability frightens me." She looked down, not wanting to meet his gaze, "I care for you and I know there are somethings you would probably prefer to go without knowing."

"So the bite was from him? And you allowed it?" He sounded angry.

She couldn't look at him, still. "I don't know that he would have taken no as an answer."

He came to sit beside her, sitting heavily in his chair, "Well, I suppose this make sense as to why you are still on your wild goose chase." He sat the jar and vial on his work table. "If there a way I could save you from this fate, I would do it. Ask me to run away with you again," his voice was low. "Ask me and I will take you far away from here."

She looked up at him her heart fluttering in her chest, how she had wished he would have asked her this sooner. He looked sad as if he already knew what she was going to say. "It's too late," her voice sounded strained. "If... if you would have just said yes the first time, it would have been easier. Now. Now, I get this sinking feeling that if I tried to run, he would come to find me."

He grimaced, "Do you think he means to do you harm?"

She couldn't help, but shrug, "I don't know. He's made a real effort to seduce me, he says his main concern is children."

"You are still getting that feeling that something isn't right?" She nodded and he could only sigh, "If we had some evidence to show to your father it may give him easy an enough effort to break ties with the man."

"That's what I've been looking for," she smiled at him.

He brushed his hand through his hair then roughly started to rub his face, "I am a fool for missing that one chance." She stood and moved behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning against him. She rested her chin against his shoulder and he tilted his head so their cheeks were pressed together, "I find that I am damning myself for resisting you for so long. What am I going to do when he takes you away from me?" His voice started to become harsh with emotion, "Ask me again, I beg you."

She didn't answer, she just buried her face against his neck and held on to him. She ignored the shudder from him and tried to stifle her own tears. "Damn the fates," she whimpered.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there holding on to him, he hadn't demanded that she release him like he usually did. He just sat there, letting her comfort him and herself. There was a knock on the door and she had just enough time to pull away and stand up straight to greet the castle steward. He looked between them curiously, "Is everything alright?"

She cast a cautious glance at her sorcerer and saw only his irritation at the interruption, "As alright as they can be."

"It's almost time for dinner, Princess," the steward chided lightly. "You need to go get cleaned up and dress properly."

"Thank you, Baileywick,"she turned back to her sorcerer, scooping up the jar and vial from the work table. "I'll see you tomorrow. What time will you be going out to create the reservoir?"

"Bright and early," he sighed. "Do not forget to tell your father that you intend to go."

"I'll do it at dinner," she turned and exited his tower with the steward in tow. "Are you feeling alright, Princess?"

"Yes, I just got a few things for my monthly visitor," she grimaced at him. "It looks like it's going to be a doozy this month."

"Ah, well," he adjusted his glasses, she couldn't tell if the direction of the conversation bothered him or not. "I suppose we're fortunate that Cedric has improved so much over the last few years."

"Mister Cedric has always been a gifted sorcerer, Baileywick," she frowned at him, she always felt like she had to defend her sorcerer. "He just needed some confidence to really shine." The steward smiled at her, "I will take your word for it, Sofia. You have always been gifted in seeing the good in people." He paused to spy at his pocket watch, "I need to go find your siblings, I'll see you at dinner."

She nodded and made her way to her room, she put the potion and salve on her bedside table then went to dress in an dinner appropriate gown. Once she redressed she made her way down to the dining room. She paused by an ornate mirror to make sure her appearance was acceptable. She looked torn and heart heavy. She had spent the majority of the afternoon in his workshop, missing lunch. She should be hungry, but she couldn't find her appetite.

She forced herself away from the mirror and the forlorn girl in it to continue on to the dining room. Her parents were already seated and appeared to be in a deep discussion over something. At least, it appeared, her mother wasn't still angry with her father. She sat down at her spot at the table. "Hi Mom, Hi Dad," she forced a smile.

"Good evening, Sofia," her father smiled.

Her mother, on the other hand, was better at reading her than her father, "Everything alright?"

This was a question she would be hearing a lot the coming months, she smiled weakly, "I'm fine." She grimaced after a moment, "Monthly troubles."

Her father grimaced and tried to find something, anything, to distance himself from the conversation. While, her mother smiled and nodded, accepting the excuse, "Did you see Cedric for a potion?"

"Yea, I'm going to take it after dinner," she sighed and leaned back into her chair, she felt so tired though the reason was obvious. "I think after dinner I'm going to take a hot bath and then go to bed."

"That sounds like a good idea," her mother nodded.

"But," she remembered, looking to her father. He looked like a deer caught in front of an oncoming carriage. "I have a favor to ask, dad."

"If this is concerning..." He trailed off looking embarrassed. For a man with two daughters, he never really got the hang of having to deal with puberty and it's regular consequences.

"No," she waved her hand and frowned at him. "Tomorrow Mister Cedric is scheduled to go out to the harvest site to place a magical reservoir. I was hoping it would be okay with you if I tagged along. I'm his apprentice and I want to be able to help him, because it sounds like a lot to do."

"I don't know," he looked concerned now. "Cedric is, now, an accomplished sorcerer. He should be able to handle this on his own."

"I know and he's come a long way, but," she pulled a maneuver that would make her sister proud. She tilted her head downward, batted her eyes at her father and puckered out her bottom lip, "It sounds like it would be really interesting to watch. I know I'll never be able to be the sorcerer that Mister Cedric is, but to see him cast spells and to help if he needs it... please, Dad?"

He sighed lightly, in defeat. She didn't often resort to such measures, but knowing that they worked was a prize. "Alright, but," his brows lowered and he looked at her evenly. "I will be sending a select number of guards along with you."

"Guards? Why?" She felt confused. It wasn't dangerous where they were going to place the Inn, was it? It would be irresponsible to put an establishment for people to stay and it not be safe.

"I want you to stay within sight of them," he commanded. It was then she realized that the guards weren't there to make sure she stayed safe. They were there to make sure she didn't try to run off. "They will be there just in case, don't worry about their presence and go about your usual business of helping out Cedric."

She looked at him, seeing the little bit of strain apparent in his face. There was a little line of sweat just along his graying temple. "I'm not going to run," she said unconsciously. "It may have been a thought, but... I'm not going to."

"Yes, well," he looked away from her, perhaps uncomfortable with the fact that she saw through his scheme. "They will be there just to be sure."

He didn't believe her, she looked at her mother and saw the mirrored fear in her face, as well. She didn't look like she believed her either. They must still think her a cornered animal, ready to strike or looking for any opening to escape. She looked down at her hands, she wanted to offer them reassurance. But, anything she could say would probably be taken with a grain of salt. She should consider herself lucky that there wasn't a guard posted outside her bedroom door.

Amber and James joined them at the table and dinner was served. The mood didn't lighten entirely, though James made an effort to pick it up. Amber on the other hand found something other than wedding talk to occupy herself with. Her fiance was coming to Enchancia for a visit and she couldn't stop herself from talking excitedly about it. At some point, her father warned her about remaining chaste. How somethings were important to save for her wedding night, but the awkwardness of it was waved away.

She didn't stay for dessert, claiming tiredness and asking to be excused. She went to her room and shed her gown and corset. She donned her nightdress and sat on her bed. She pulled up the hem of her dress and looked at the bite mark on her thigh. It looked well enough considering it was nearly a week ago that Victor had sank his teeth into her thigh. She picked up the jar from her bedside table and pulled the cork out of it. The scent was intense, she wouldn't call it unpleasant, but it was definitely overpowering. She lightly dabbed a thin coat of the cream onto the mark on her thigh.

It burned, though it wasn't too painful. She put the cork back into the jar and rested back onto her pillow, wondering if she should be concerned by the sensation. She watched with interest as the indentation of Victor's teeth started to slowly lessen. The burning situation also started to subside to something more of an unpleasant tingle. She watched until the remainder of the mark slowly faded from view and all that was left was the residue of the cream.

She was flooded with relief. She got up to clean the cream from her skin and couldn't help but twirl to her basin. While it was unlikely for another person to be able to see it, unless they were seeing her in a state of undress, it was still a vast relief to know it was gone.

She went back to her bed and collapsed into the pillows and surrendered happily to sleep.

The next morning she awoke on her own, not at all to the incessant sound of someone knocking at her door. It was lovely. She stretched and sighed, relaxing in her bed. It felt as if her day was set to be a brilliant one. The knowledge of the journey to the border of Enchancia and Nigrum had her up and getting ready to go. She probably had enough time to fetch herself a bite from the kitchen if she hurried.

She donned a simple dress that she usually saved for when she was taking her magic lessons. She slipped on her shoes and, as quietly as she could, ventured out into the hallway. She made her way to the kitchens, nearly frightening the life out of a maid. The chef eyed her curiously, it was still early the sun had just started to peak over the horizon. Breakfast hadn't been prepared.

But, there was bread and jam. That would be enough to start her off this morning. She ate quickly then, pausing to spy at a grandfather clock in the hallway, hurried to her sorcerer's tower. She tapped cautiously on his door, it wasn't often that she ventured up to his tower early. He was a night owl and she always feared waking him, there was no telling the mood he would be in if she were to wake him up.

His door opened and he looked as chipper as he ever was going to look, which wasn't by much considering who she was considering. "Good morning, Princess," he waved her in. "There's not a lot to pack up, but we need to be quick. There's carriage waiting for us."

"Guards will be accompanying us," she stepped in and then stood in the center of his workshop. "What can I do to help you?"

He waved at the carpet bag that was sitting, opened, on his worktable. "Throw in a couple of spare wands for me. I've got the book I'm not going to try to stuff it into there. And, I suppose that will make us ready to go." He went to the door and opened it again, "Get the bag, apprentice. Let us get this bit done and over with."

She fished up two of his spare wands from the cup on his table and stuck them into the bag, then closed it. With a grunt, she pulled the bag from the work table and started to head down the stairs. He went ahead of her, she was sure it was in the event she decided to stumble down the stairs it was so that she could have something to land on. They made it to the hallway and started venturing down to the front door.

There was a flying carriage waiting on them, three guards were already waiting to board it. One sat with the coachman, the other two were positioned were standing just outside the door that led into the carriage. They saluted immediately as they came into view. Her father had his back turned to them and, upon seeing the King, her sorcerer snatched his carpet bag from her.

"Your Majesty," he announced wearily. Even after all these years he still couldn't shake the apparent insecurities he had towards the King of Enchancia. "W-we are prepared to depart."

"Excellent," the king turned to greet them, smiling at her pleasantly. "Three guards will be accompanying you, just for safety. But, make sure you don't venture too far. Victor only eluded to the dangers of his kingdom. I don't know if any of them have wandered into our own, it's been so long since anyone has gone to the border of the kingdoms."

"Okay," she grumbled, "As long as they stay out of the way."

"These are our finest guards, Sofia," he folded his arms over his chest. "You won't even know they are there."

She tried to resist the urge to pout. She leaned up to give her father's cheek a kiss then boarded the carriage. Her sorcerer bowed uneasily to her father and boarded after her. They both had to scoot to the far end of the coach so that there was room enough for the guards to board after them and be seated.

"You have a safe trip," her father waved as the carriage started to take off. "I expect a full report once you get back!"

She grimaced across the coach at her sorcerer, "Sorry. I didn't expect him to send this many guards along with us."

He mirrored her expression, "It won't take away from our assignment. Honestly, I should have expected it. With the way that you have been acting I'm surprised he hasn't put a escort on you sooner."

"Don't give him, or them, any ideas," she nodded her head towards the guards that were seated beside them. Their expressions were stoic and they appeared as if they were statues, though she knew that they were taking in their entire conversation.

The flight out to the border was long and filled with brief conversation. The guards made them both uncomfortable and he kept quiet for the most part. She assumed that he kept distant so that their friendship would appear no more than that. She spent the majority of the ride looking out at the landscape below them. She always enjoyed flying, but more often than not she would prefer to be on the back of the flying horse rather than in a carriage.

She perked up, looking around her sorcerer and the back of the guard that sat behind him to see the darkness of the mountain range that separated her kingdom from Victor's. They appeared ominously on the horizon and as they got closer the mountains' foreboding appearance grew. She stood carefully, putting a hand on the guard's shoulder beside her as she tried to get a better look.

As they got closer she could see a little past the mountains of the range, though there wasn't much to see. There was a dark large spire that loomed past them. At some point, though she couldn't pinpoint why, her stomach dropped and she weaved just a little where she stood. "Sit down," her sorcerer griped. "Before you fall out of the carriage!"

She frowned at him and sat down, "We're almost there."

"All the more reason for you to not go plummeting to your death," he said snidely.

"I am going to take us to a clear area to land, Milady. Please hold on," the coachman instructed over his shoulder. She sighed, feeling as if she was chided by both of them, and folded her arms over her chest as the coachman stirred the carriage down to the ground. The carriage bumped and shook as it rolled along the ground before rolling to a halt.

The area was what clearly used to be a dense forest. The trees had already been harvested and it appeared they went the extra mile of pulling up the roots of the trees as well. They didn't leave holes either, there was small piles of dirt from where they filled in the holes that had been created.

"It only took them five days to clear this big of an area?" She asked, amazed.

"They had to be using some sort of magic," her sorcerer commented from across the carriage. "I don't see how they could have done this by hand."

The guards stood and disembarked from the carriage, holding the doors open for her and her sorcerer. They trailed off the carriage behind them and looked at the area curiously. "Do you sense any kind of magic?"

"There's no magical residue. I don't know why you would assume that I would sense it any and every bit of magic that was used to do something," he complained. "Unless there is magic still attached to it, then I won't know. If the magic is done, it's done."

She sighed then grimaced at him, "I'm sorry." She looked down at her feet and awkwardly messed with the skirt of her dress. "Shall we get started?"

He sat down his carpet bag and pulled a wand from his sleeve, "How about you help me dig the hole, hm?"

She pulled her own wand out and smiled, "I would be delighted to!"

They both cried"Liftioso," and began to pull large chunks of dirt from the ground. They dug a hole into the ground together, Cedric coming behind her to clean up and smooth out the edges. They had a nice size rectangular hole after an hour of work. "Do you think that is large enough?" She asked.

"It's a good size," he stepped around to eye the dimensions of it. "I believe it is as large as he requested." He picked up the tome he had brought with him and started to turn it to the right page. He handed it to her, for her to hold, and conjured a bloated skin of water. He took a pull from it, judging the water's flavor then took a drop from it. "With this drop I shed into thee, I cast an endless spring to replenish me."

She watch in fascination as the drop fell to the bottom of the hole they had dug then, without even a blink of an eye, water sprang up from that little drop. The hole became a large lake, or reservoir in this case. "Wow," she breathed.

A shadow flew overhead and they both looked up, seeing nothing but blue skies. Confused, she shrugged. "Was that all that we needed to do?"

"We will report to your father about the apparent success of our mission, he will inform the Prince of it and they will test it," he shrugged. "That was all that we were told we had to do."

"Princess Sofia, is that you?" The turned to see the Prince in question stepping from the tree line. Had the shadow been a carriage? "What are you doing out here?" He walked the short distance to join them, eyeing her company curiously. He was dressed in the dark armor that she had seen on him when he had first arrived to Enchancia, it was a vast comparison to the shiny plate the guards that had accompanied her wore.

She looked to her sorcerer, noticed his discomfort, and sighed. She hadn't been prepared to face Victor. "Our Royal Sorcerer, Mister Cedric, has been teaching me magic. I came out here with him to assist him with creating the reservoir that you requested as apart of your agreement with my father," she turned back to look at him and gestured to the magically created lake. "And there it is."

"You assisted in creating this?" He stopped within reach of her, going as far as resting his gauntlet covered hand against the small of her back. He did gaze over the created reservoir curiously.

"Only a little," she gestured to the man beside her. "Mister Cedric did all the hard work. I only helped were I could."

"I'm impressed," he said then offered a nod to her sorcerer. "Very well done. Shall we test it?"

She blinked, looking to her sorcerer who looked equally confused, "Sure?"

He took a slight step away, looked up and whistled loudly. A roar answered it and everyone else looked up. A dragon larger than anything she had ever seen sailed over the nearby mountains and flew to where they stood in the clearing. It was a sleek and black, with a tan underbelly. It's wingspan put their flying horses' wings to shame. It's head was diamond shaped with three horns on the back of its head. It's snout was short and serpentine, more so than what she remembered of Everburn.

A hand landed on her shoulder and she was jerked backwards, Cedric stepped in front of her and threw his wand up towards the beast. The guards that had accompanied them moved into formation around them and had their spears ready. Their reactions were so quick, she hadn't even considered the true danger they may have been in.

"Hold your weapons," Victor said, gaining all their attention. He had a slight smile upon his face, "He's not here to harm you or your princess. Please, hold your weapons."

The guards hesitated and seemed to glance at her for reassurance, she put a hand on her sorcerer's shoulder, "Hold your weapons." It was a quiet echo, because she was captivated by the sight of the dragon.

Victor seemed to have heard her because there was something in his expression that showed his pleasure. He looked up at the beast, "Zarithrian! Look they've given us a water source. Please, gather some and take it back to the castle, will you?"

The creature nodded and glided over the reservoir, dipping a large cauldrons that it had clutched in its claws into the water to fill it. The water, as with the well in Dunwitty, appeared unaffected. The level of water remained the same and all there was to tell that the dragon had fetched water from it were ripples dancing across its surface. The creature hovered over the water, it's wings beating to keep it in the air. It turn its long neck to look back at them, "It's unchanged."

"Very good," Victor clapped a hand. "See to it that Maloriak gets his share."

She couldn't tell for sure, but it looked as if the leviathan rolled it's eyes, "A waste for more failed experiments." With the disdain comment, the beast sailed back through the air and over the mountains. Out of sight.

"Please forgive him, he's still young and he's not quite learned the importance of respect," he caught all of their attention again, as if he hadn't just summoned a dragon before them. And now he spoke of it as if it were a child.

"Young?" She eyed him, "He was larger than any dragon I have ever seen. How is it that you have a dragon at your command?"

He took a cautious look at the guards that surrounded her and the sorcerer that stood in front of her. There was amusement clear on his face, "I told you before that the land that I come from was inhabited by dragons. If you have massive, fire breathing creatures that have the possibility of being very destructive near your kingdom, isn't the best way to take advantage of the situation to strike an alliance with them?" He focused on her sorcerer, "You can stand down. I have no intentions of doing harm to my princess."

She felt him tense, under her hand, and she worried he might say something. She squeezed his shoulder and stepped around him. His face was twisted into a look of contempt, as if he were at the edge of condemning the man that was to be her husband. He usually looked so fearful when it came to people that were considered his 'betters.' But, now, he looked as if he were ready to spring forward into attack. He was poised to defend her. So much for being rubbish at combative magic.

"It's okay," she squeezed his shoulder again, offering a smile when he looked at her. "You can stand down." She watched as he slowly lowered his wand and the guards around her seemed to relax back into an attentive stance. She turned her attention back to Victor, though she stayed close to Cedric. "How were you able to strike up an alliance with dragons?"

"Well," he took a moment to look slightly embarrassed. "It wasn't I that struck the alliance, this was something that was done a very long time ago. The alliance with the black dragons has always been, we weren't even taught who it was that originally struck the deal. But, it is something that has gone back generations in my family."

"How is something like that maintained for so long?" She had so many questions, "I've never seen a dragon so large, you said he was young?"

"He's actually small, though he's no longer a whelp. I would say, if we were going to equate Zarithrian's age to that of a human... I would say he's about a teenager," he shrugged nonchalantly as if they weren't talking about a dragon. "Assuming that nothing interferes with their life they are creatures that live long." He paused in his explanation then, after toying with the hair on his chin, "You have seen dragons before?"

"There are dragons inhabiting the Burning Palisades. I visited them once as a girl," she confided.

"The Burning Palisades? I can't say I am familiar with the place," he smiled at her, perhaps for sharing with him. "You will have to tell me about this when we have the time for me to hear the entire story?"

"Will you be coming back to Enchancia with us?"

"Not this time," he sighed and after a look to her guards and her sorcerer he reached out to her. "May I have some affection from my princess before we part ways?"

"How did you get here?" She asked as she unconsciously took his hand so that he could pull her closer. "I don't see your carriage anywhere," she looked around him, behind him was nothing but forest.

"I could show you where I hid it," there was something salacious about the way he said it, he kept her hand and started to turn, to take her into the tree line. "There's another clearing not far from this one."

"The princess is to remain in our sight," one of the guards spoke up, his voice hard and commanding. "She is not to leave our company."

He paused, turning to look at her guards. He frowned slightly then looked at her, "Have you gotten yourself in trouble or is this a precaution?" He pulled her closer without paying their company anymore attention, his voice lowered to a low growl that she hoped only she could hear, "Or did they know I intended to take you into the woods to have my way with you?"

She shuddered and cast a cautious look to the guards that watched and her sorcerer. His expression looked pained and when their eyes connected, he looked away. Victor took her chin and turned her to face him, "They are here for my protection." It wasn't a lie, not outright. But, she didn't want him to know that her father feared she might run away. She wasn't sure what his reaction would be. She had such a hard time reading him.

"Hm," he hummed as he leaned down to kiss her. "There are many dangerous things in the world," he murmured. "Dragons that might want to eat you for example," he grinned wolfishly. She looked at him wide eyed and he chuckled, almost cackled really, "I was only joking with you, Sofia. Zarithrian would not do you any harm. I, on the other hand," he pulled her flush against him. "I look forward to the opportunity to taste you again." He kissed her again, this time more heatedly and she whimpered. There was no way she could pull away from him, he was like a magnetic force the kept her drawn tight to him.

A throat was cleared, "It's time we get the princess back to the castle."

Victor pulled away from her and looked towards their interrupter, she felt another growl rumble through him and she was suddenly afraid. He inhaled sharply, as if suddenly coming back to himself and sighed, "Forgive me. Let us just say that the vision of you is so captivating that I wasn't quite ready to part from you." He smiled, suddenly the charming prince once again. "I hope to see you again, soon. You were a delightful surprise today." He took her hand and placed it into the crook of his arm, escorting her back to her carriage. "It will take us longer to clear an appropriate area for an Inn and then larger still for a farm and a house that will hold the people that will care for it," the guards followed closely behind them and she got the feeling that they didn't trust the man at her side.

"Are your people going to be building the Inn?" She looked at him curiously. She had hoped, that with his arrival, that there would be some sort of clue how he had managed to clear the area without any apparent effort. But, all they had seen was him and a dragon.

"Actually, I did petition your father to use your Royal sorcerer's magic to do it. Not that the old fashion way isn't adequate, it's just that magic has a good way of sealing out the cold. Plus, if this is what I have to look forward to when it is time that the Inn be built I will most definitely request that your sorcerer take care of it," he wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I will be in Enchancia in the coming month to discuss plans with your father, I look forward to seeing you then."

A guard opened the carriage for her and looked expectant, "You didn't tell us before that you had allegiances with dragons. I have to inform Dad about this. Does he know?"

He seemed to be unaffected by her admission, "I would expect you to do so. I don't imagine he would know that I would have a dragon here, today. No." He chuckled, "I bet that I will have an angry letter from him in the near future."

She turned to board the carriage and paused when he didn't release her hand, in fact he kept a tight hold on it, "I hope to receive a letter from you, too, Sofia. Perhaps you can consider regaling me with your adventures? Perhaps enlighten me more with your interests?"

She looked at him for a long moment and knew that his request wasn't too much. He seemed to be striving to make an effort to get to know her. She offered him a weak smile, "I promise to write to you. I'll get started on a letter as soon as we get back to the castle."

"Very good," he brought her hand to his mouth to press a kiss against her knuckles. "It was delightful to see you today." He finally released her and stepped aside so the rest of her party could board the carriage. "Have a safe journey back."

"You, too," she sat down and shifted over so the guards would have room to sit. Her sorcerer boarded and sat across from her, looking at anything but her. Her stomach knotted up and she watched as the guards boarded and sat.

Victor stepped away from the carriage instead of moving to go to his own he stood to watch as the horses moved into a trot and with their wings flapping took them off into the air. She peered over the side of the carriage, looking at the trees and searching for where he might of parked his own carriage. There was no break in the trees, there was no sign of a clearing that would be safe to land a flying horse drawn carriage. She sat back. Had he lied to her?

"I couldn't see his carriage," she commented as she looked to the man that sat across from her. "If he came in a coach I should have been able to see it from this height."

"Perhaps he came on the back of the dragon," the guard beside her supplied.

"How do you have an alliance with dragons and not mention it when you are approaching other kingdoms for alliances?" She felt betrayed suddenly, it seemed like this would be something to mention. "How could you not tell them when you demand the hand of their daughter?"

"Perhaps," the same guard supplied. "He didn't want to appear as if you didn't have the opportunity to say no."

"Or," her sorcerer started, his expression narrow and angry. "He brought the dragon here as a means to tell us that it's too late to back out now. He's trying to give us an idea of the real power he has."

"Do you view it as a threat?" The guard asked, curiously.

"It could be," he retorted. "Why else do you come out of nowhere and propose a treaty of peace with trade goods and the hand of a beautiful princess, but not show all your cards?" He looked disgruntled, "He implied that there were more dragons, but we saw only one. There is no telling how many dragons are in his country and how many are at his disposal. If the King suddenly decides to cut his ties with this man it could be devastating for us all." He finally met her gaze and she saw a bit of despair cross his features. "Did you ever really have a chance to say no?"

They all grew quiet, "We will have to report this to the king." The guard that sat beside Cedric remarked, "He will need to know of this and the danger that Enchancia could potentially be in."

"I've never had to kill a dragon," the other guard said. "How do you even kill one without getting killed yourself? There's fairy tales about knights smiting dragons all the time, but I don't see how it's feasible. He said that creature was the equivalent of a teen. What does a full grown dragon look like?"

"I'm sure there's a way," she said, reaching to put a hand on the shoulder of the man beside her. "But, if there's not a need to fight then there's no reason to. Victor's not made any threats against Enchancia." She looked at her sorcerer again, "Him showing us a dragon doesn't necessarily mean he's making threats."

"If necessary, though it will have to be discussed with the king and the constable, we may need to inform the other kingdoms of the development. I know that Wei-Ling has a contingent of catapults and glaives in their armories," the guard beside Cedric said with an even coolness. "It may be in Enchancia's best interest to make investments in such weaponry."

"Yes, but if you were to run away there may be just cause. Or, as he seemed to be keen on luring you away from your guard. What if he decides that he would rather not wait for a wedding and simply take you home with him now?" Her sorcerer pointed out, "If all he need to is whistle for one of the leviathans there would have been nothing we could have don't to stop him."

"You were quick to put yourself between me and the dragon," she pointed out.

"That doesn't mean I had a defensive spell at the ready or anything offensive to take on a dragon," he snapped at her. "It was a gut reaction, a stupid one. If the beast had meant to kill us we would still be dead."

She grew silent again, as did the rest of her party. They flew the remainder of the flight quiet, after the discussion her sorcerer's expression went blank and he seemed to withdraw into himself. She couldn't help, but watch him. She could only imagine the thoughts he was having, he saw the way that Victor kissed her.

She deflated and looked away, the fates seems to be adamant about her staying on the path that she fought to stay on. It was putting a larger rift between her and her sorcerer. Friendship could endure, but when you loved the person you called friend romantically … how long could it continue to endure?

Could she stay his friend if he were promised to another? It left so many questions swimming in her mind. When they landed she was so preoccupied that she hadn't noticed, until one of the guards cleared his throat. "We have arrived back at the castle, Princess," she looked up to see them both out of the carriage and standing on either side of the door.

"I'm sorry," she stood and stepped out of the carriage, "I got lost in thought."

"Understandable considering all that's happened today," the younger of the three men offered. "We have to report to the King about what happened today."

"As do I," her sorcerer commented as he stepped off of the carriage.

"We should all go in together," she looked to each of them. "All of us to corroborate the story will help support the seriousness of the situation." That, and she was eager to see her father's reaction. She didn't know if he knew that Victor harbored an alliance with dragons. They went into the castle and she led them in the direction of her father's study. She knew he would be expecting them so he would postpone any petitions from the village and be waiting to receive them. She tapped politely on his door, when he called for them to enter, she opened both doors to allow them all in. "Hey Dad," she greeted him nonchalantly.

"Sofia," he smiled and gestured for her to take a seat. "I hope you have good things to tell me."

"Mister Cedric was able to dig the reservoir and fill it with water without any hiccups or complications," she took the seat he gestured to and settled guards lined up at attention just behind her and the sorcerer in question hovered to their left, looking uncomfortable. "It actually didn't take him long to do."

"If it didn't take long to accomplish, then why were you not back sooner?" Her father looked curious, eyeing each of the people that occupied his study.

"We got an unexpected visitor," she fumbled with the skirt of her dress, adjusting how it lay over her knees. She was uncomfortable with this part, her father would know now-if he hadn't before-how forward her fiance was with her. "Victor came to inspect Mister Cedric's hard work."

"When he and I discussed it before you embarked out to create the reservoir he thought it would be safer for both our countries to have the area cleared of all his workers," her father supplied, though he looked a little confused. "I hadn't expected him to meet you out there, though I don't see the harm in him doing so."

"We didn't see how he arrived, he just appeared," she started to argue before getting a handle on herself. "He wanted to test the work that Mister Cedric did." He looked at her curiously, waiting for her to continue, "He called a dragon, a large dragon. I can't even think of what I could use as an example to give you an idea of how big it was."

"It's length was about equal to that of the carriage, including the horses," one of the guards supplied. "That's from snout to tail. It's wingspan was greater than that of the horses. It's scales were black in color and we could not judge if it was a fire breathing dragon, it didn't appear threatened by us."

She released a breath, "Mister Cedric grabbed me and shoved me behind him and the guards moved around us to offer more protection. But, I can't say that it looked afraid of us at all."

Her father sat up further in his chair, his hands clasping the edge of his desk. "Lieutenant Jenkins, let me hear your report."

"We arrived at the site after an hour of flight from the castle," the man that had ridden with the coachman spoke. "The princess and the sorcerer disembarked and began digging a hole. The princess assisted with the dig and Cedric offered her commentary on her magic abilities, once the hole was of a depth and boardness of his liking he gave his spell book for her to hold and was able to produce water to fill it." The guard paused for a breath, "The work took all of an hour. They dawdled a moment as they considered the next course of action before deciding it was time to return. When they turned to return to the carriage Prince Victor Nefarius called to the princess. She was correct, we were not able to detect how he arrived. As far as we could tell he merely stepped out of the woods." She turned to look at the man and saw he merely stared ahead as he dictated the day, "He proposed testing the reservoir and whistled, a large black dragon appeared from the sky with a cauldron in tow. Cedric, rather quickly, shoved the princess behind him and the rest of us moved into formation to defend the princess. No spells were casted and no offensive measures were made. Nefarius bade that we hold our weapons and stand down. After reassuring the princess that she was in no danger, she did as well." Her father leaned forward as he listened to the report, "The dragon went onto fetch water from the magic lake, the water level went unchanged and it was determined that the spell that the sorcerer cast had been successful."

"Very good," her father commented.

"Nefarius sent the dragon back to his kingdom and then bade affection from the princess," the guard began again, seemingly unaffected by the king's interruption. "She obliged him, she questioned how he had arrived and he offered to show her. He tried to take her back the way he had come. I objected and he didn't not appear to be pleased that she was to remain within our sight. He was very forward with his affections towards the princess, even with our party present. I allowed him ten minutes garner his 'affections' from the princess then bid that we needed to leave to make our return."

"Did he appear threatening in anyway?" Her father asked.

"Only when I interrupted him."

Her father looked cross for a moment, "When you interrupted him?"

The guard looked as uncomfortable, "He was kissing her quite aggressively and touching her in an intimate manner. When I said it was time to go he looked quite irritated."

"Ah," her father nodded and stood. "Thank you for your report, you can return to your duties." The three guards saluted and turned to leave his study.

"But, what about the dragon?" She started to argue, standing.

"Cedric," her father went to the sorcerer and put a hand on his shoulder as he started to direct him out of the room as well. The other man remained hunched and looking intimidated, "Thank you very much going above and beyond what you were instructed to do today." He gave him a light pat on the back as they got to the door, "Your willingness to put yourself between my daughter and apparent danger is something that would do your father proud. I will be sure to give you the royal commendation that you deserve, but I need a moment to speak to Sofia in private. You understand, right?"

"Of-of course, your majesty," her sorcerer stuttered, he didn't even give her a parting look. He stepped out of the room and the door was closed behind him with no further comment.

She stood staring at him, trying to figure out what it was that was happening. "You knew he had dragons?"

"I didn't know he had them at his command, he mentioned that they inhabited his country. He never spoke of them as if they were a threat," he went back to lounge in the chair behind his desk. "You came marching in here as if you had something, did he threaten you? Did he hurt you?"

"Are you completely writing off the fact that he has dragons at his command?" She shot back, before sighing and sitting back down. "He didn't threaten me or hurt me. Why don't you seem concerned?"

"I am concerned," he frowned at her. "The sighting of a dragon concerns me a great deal. However, our agreement with Victor puts me at ease. You don't arrange an alliance with another kingdom and open up trade only to turn around and stab them in the back. Yes, knowing that he has dragons in command frightens me, however Enchancia has other allies with military agreements. If Victor was going to lead a strike against us, I'm sure it would be devastating. But we wouldn't be facing Victor's kingdom alone."

"Why did you send the guards with us?"

"To keep an eye on you."

"Did you know he would meet us out there?" She wasn't sure what to believe, she was puzzled by the fact that he didn't appear to be angry by the fact that the man he had betrothed her to had hidden a significant detail from him.

"I didn't,"he leveled her a suspicious look of his own. "Did you allow him to be so forward with you?"

"He doesn't really give me the chance to tell him no," she frowned. "He has an overpowering presence to him and, even if he does more than I want him to, I don't really get the chance to say no or stop."

"Has he forced himself on you?" There was a bit of an edge to his voice and she wondered if she told him all the things Victor had done to her, if he would end the engagement.

"I'm still a virgin," she responded, though it didn't really answer the question.

"That's good to know," he sighed uneasily. "Go ahead and head down to lunch. I won't be joining you, if you see Baileywick you can send him in."

She was being dismissed, she knew it. She wanted to argue with him, feeling like he was being too dismissive over the idea that her fiance had an unknown amount of dragons allied with him. But, it was apparent with the way that he dismissed the guards he commanded to watch her that he wasn't as concerned over the fact that he had given her to a man with something as powerful as dragons. She stood and tried her best to not glare at him. It was hard. He had to know something she didn't, surely he wouldn't blindly agree to her marriage to this man without some sort of knowledge as to what he was putting her through. She walked out of his study without another word. She didn't make an effort to look for the castle steward, it wouldn't surprise her in the least if the steward hadn't heard his name and started to make his way to the king.

The rest of the day felt wasted in a pit of worry, she spent the majority of her lunch picking at the salad that had been provided for her and ignoring her siblings and mother as she considered the new development. He had dragons, if he wanted her as badly as he appeared to today... why didn't he just take her? What would her sorcerer and the guards be able to do?

What did her father know that she didn't?

The day blurred and before she knew it, she was bundled in her bed and glaring at the canopy. If she could somehow find evidence that Victor's character was something that wasn't refutable that would make him an adequate husband for her, was there anyway for them to back out of the engagement? She felt shackled to him, now, more so than she had at any other time since their engagement began. And that short engagement was slowly dwindling away.

The end of this month was a mere week away and before too long, four months would turn into three. Her stomach turned and she curled onto her side, hugging her knees to her chest. Pain burned through the small of her back and she whimpered, even mother nature was against her.


	8. Chapter 8

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story is rated M for mature, meaning there is mature content ahead. While this chapter is safe, it's likely others are not. I will warn you that there is material in this particular chapter that might make you go 'Eew, why did you write about that?' There's some significance to it. I promise. I don't just talk about Aunt Flo without a reason, yanno.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

I fulfilled something that I wanted with this. I got my James/Zandar pairing in there without actually breaking from what I was doing. I didn't get distracted, I didn't go on some weird kink thing that was totally plaguing me. I just might be depraved though. So, in the event you were unaware... yea. We have meetings on Tuesdays that involve cookies and coffee.

* * *

The sleep she had gotten hadn't been fitful. It was plagued with nightmares of a deep voice laughing mockingly at her and the visions of dragons and fire. When she woke up she ached and she wanted to do nothing but stay in bed. And she would have, she would have laid there and dwelled on the foul turn her life had suddenly taken, but after laying there for a time she noticed a dampness between her thighs. With a groan, she sat up and pushed her blankets off of her. It wasn't apparent at first, but when she got out of bed there was a red stain darkening her top sheet.

"Why me? Why now?" She whined as she started to tear the sheets and blankets from her bed. "Why couldn't you wait until later today?" She had the top sheet tugged off the feather bed and nearly cried at the sight of the stain. It had bled all the way through the sheets.

Someone had tapped at the door, but she hadn't noticed. She was too busy trying to pull the rest of the sheets from the bed. She wasn't sure why, but surely there was a way she could get them cleaned without anyone else knowing what had happened. The door slid open and she was tangled the sheets at the foot of her bed, struggling to stay afloat in her emotions and failing.

"Princess!" The soft voice of her maid finally got to her. She looked up at the older woman and could do nothing but whimper helplessly at her. "Oh you poor dear," she came to her and helped her pull the blankets from her bed, then untangle her from the mess she had made.

"I made a mess," she sniffled, struggling not to outright sob. She was drowning in all of the things that had happened over the last month or so and she couldn't reel herself in. "I was going to clean it up, but... but..."

"Oh dearest," the older woman wrapped her in a tight embrace. "You needn't worry yourself over stained sheets. I will get these cleaned and get you a fresh set." She quaked and shook her head, there was more to it than that. Though she couldn't tell her hand maid that. "Let's get you out of these soiled clothes and get you into a bath, hopefully that will help you feel better." Her maid pulled away from her and guided her into the direction of her private bath, "I will have to prep some hot water for you to have a bath. Give me just a moment and I will get it on the fire. Then we will get you undressed so you can clean yourself up."

She was left standing in the cool room, though she felt numb to the temperature of it. She tried to reign in on her emotions, one of the unfortunate side effects of her monthly visitor was sometimes it would hit her so hard that she would find herself falling apart at the simplest of things. Though, with all that had occurred, her falling apart now wasn't just the effect of hormones running rampant.

It was the knowledge that she was truly trapped in the situation she was put in by her father. It also had something to do with knowing that the man she cared for deeply had been forced to witness her husband to be taking liberties with her. She couldn't imagine how it had made him feel, she didn't know what she would do if she saw another person kissing him or touching him like Victor had done to her.

Her hand maid had returned with a wooden bucket full of steaming water. She sat it next to the copper tub and helped her shed her soiled night dress. "It's alright, princess," she murmured to her. "This happens to everyone on occasion. You needn't worry too much with the mess. I've seen to it being taken care of."

"Thank you," she echoed hollowly as she pulled the gown over her head. She grimaced at seeing the dark stain on the back of it. "I should have seen it coming," she sighed heavily as she tugged her soiled bloomers off, "All the signs were there."

"Ah, but that is the curse of being a woman, my lovely," she dipped a cloth into the hot water and offered it to her. "As soon as you think you have an idea of when these things will happen, they'll get thrown off course. All you can do is clean yourself up and keep your head high."

She took the cloth and nodded, "Thank you." Her hand maid had always held her in such high regard and seemed to dot on her to no end. "Our time together is limited now, Violet. You've taken such good care of me." She shivered finally, as the cool air seemed to penetrate her skin, "I don't know how to tell you how much I appreciate you."

"Dearest," the older woman clucked. "You have always been close to my heart as if you were my own. When it's time to see you off, you know we will all be sad to see you go." She patted her bare shoulder, "You start to clean yourself up, I will fetch more water for your bath."

She took the damp cloth and went to work on cleaning herself up with a grimace. She picked up the bucket and dumped it out to cleanse the lower half of her body. It offered her some relief. She decided to forgo an all out bath. When her hand maid returned with another bucket, "I'm not going to take a bath. I'll just clean myself up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, just get me the appropriate garments," she took the bucket from her and dipped the cloth into it, watching as a cloud of red bloomed into it. "This isn't the first time I've had my period, eventually I'll get used to it."

The maid smiled at her, "As you wish, Milady. I'll fetch you some comfortable under things, too. If you need me for anything, don't be afraid to call on me."

She thanked her then went back to work cleaning herself up, it left a mess on her floor that she knew the maids would be forced to clean and she found tears prickling at her eyes again. It would be different if she was just a villager. If she lived in the village still with Jade and Ruby she would be relying on only herself to clean up her own monthly messes. She would have her choice of who to wed. But, the chances of her knowing the Royal sorcerer were slim.

Life was unfair.

Sighing in defeat, she went about drying herself off. She didn't have it in her to face the day, but it wouldn't be acceptable for her to stay in her room lounging as her body betrayed her. She went out into her room and found her maid there waiting to help her dress. She was dressed lightly, save for the bloomers.

"Would you like me fetch you some breakfast? Perhaps some tea?"

"Tea, definitely,"she said as she considered whether or not she could stomach anything, "I think I'll wait for lunch to actually eat."

"Alright, ma'am," she turned to go but paused. "Your bedding is being washed. We will have your bed remade before it's time for you to retire for the night."

"Thank you, Violet."

"Anything for you, Princess," she replied with a smile before disappearing out her door.

She remembered the vial she had gotten from her sorcerer a few days before and went to her bedside table to pull it from the drawer. She gave the blood stain on her bed one last fleeting look before she shot back the potion and went to her window seat. Her maid brought tea to her and she spent the remainder of the morning sipping it and trying her best to not stew in the revelations from the other day. Or the lack of revelations.

She had learned a lot, though she found herself with more questions. She found herself faced with the overwhelming urge to just give up. Why fight any longer? Why search for any means to free herself of this obligation? Even if she found something, even if she had some form of evidence to present to her father … it didn't look like it would set her free.

The thoughts were depressing and, usually, when her thoughts turned blue she would go to the one person in the castle that would make her feel better. Even if he had nothing, but snide things to say about her worries. But, after knowing he saw her fiance kiss her and grope her, she wasn't sure she could face him. Not right now when her heart was so blatantly on her sleeve. She huffed a sigh as she looked outside, "Things were so much more easier before puberty." It was a complaint he often made and it was only times like this that she found herself agreeing with him.

"James!"

She shot forward, nearly spilling her cooled tea. That was Amber. She sat aside her tea cup and went to her door, looking out into the hallway. She saw nothing, but the outcry was enough to garner her attention. She went to her brother's door and saw that it was slightly ajar.

"How could you do this to me!?" Amber's voice was shrill with shock and anger.

She slid the door open and stepped inside, then immediately wished she hadn't. James was standing at his bed, his shirt off and his pants open. She was just grateful she couldn't spy that bit of him. Zandar was crumbled on the floor next to the bed and he had his hands raised upward in a pleading like fashion, his turban slightly esque on his head. He was also in a similar state of undress. She slid the door closed behind her, "What's going on?"

"Jeez, Sofia!" Her brother's voice dropped at seeing her, he looked from one sister to the other, but before he could voice any kind of story his twin interrupted him.

"I came in here looking for Zandar," she answered, her voice still having a higher pitch to it. "And I found him! Like this! He had his mouth on him and... and... I can't even say what they were doing! How could you do this to me!"

"Amber please!" Her brother argued, trying and failing to placate her. "Just listen, it's not what you think it was! You can't tell mom and dad, please stop overreacting!"

"Overreacting?!" She started to shout now, "You think I'm overreacting! You didn't walk in to see your sibling having a sexual deviant moment with your fiance!"

"Whoa," she looked between James and Zandar, she could have hardly pegged either of them to be like that.

"It's not like that," her brother retorted, looking between her and Amber. "I can explain, if you'd just let me."

Her sister folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head back so that she might look down her nose at him, even though he was taller, "Get to explaining then James. I'm sure you will have a great story behind why he had your privates in. His. Mouth!"

"Amber, please," Zandar whimpered from the floor.

"Okay... okay, wait," she stepped away from the door and waved a hand. Something about the way the other boy spoke made her feel like she had to step in now. "James, what happened?"

"She came into my room without knocking," he growled. "How many times since we've turned thirteen have I asked you to knock?"

"Why couldn't you have locked the door?" Zandar asked from the floor.

James took a moment to roughly rub his face, "We... we were having a private moment."

"With my fiance!" Amber retorted. "What am I supposed to do now, James? What is everyone going to think when they find out that the man that I am supposed to marry turns out to be gay?"

She blinked at her brother, "Are you gay?"

"What?" He started to wave his hands furiously. "I'm not gay, Zandar isn't gay," he looked down to his friend for some form of help, even though the current position they were in made it difficult to believe what he was saying. "We are just really close friends, we... we were experimenting." He struggled to put his thoughts into words.

"My parents can't find out about this," Zandar interjected, looking at Amber pleadingly. "Please, you don't understand. If they find out … I don't know what they will do!"

She took a breath and took her sister, guiding her to sit at the small dinette that occupied James' room. "Sit down and listen, I know you're angry and you have every right to be. But, let's hear them out. Then you can decide where to go from here."

Her sister met her gaze and there was fire behind her brown eyes, "I'll listen. But, I am not willing to forget or forgive what they were doing!"

She took a breath and looked at her brother, she would try again. "James, what were you and Zandar doing?"

He flushed under her gaze and he looked away, looking anywhere but at the two of them. "We... we... we were fooling around. It's something we've been doing since before they were engaged. So, it's not like I was trying to steal him from her."

"Are you in a relationship?" She asked wearily.

"No," he looked exacerbated and went to sit on the bed, close to his friend. "I'm not gay. It... it just started out where we would practicing kissing. I wanted to learn because I had heard all the things that Hugo was doing with Hildegarde. So, I asked him if he wanted to practice." His face was flushed and his embarrassment was apparent, "Then it kind of escalated. We would touch each other and... well, what she caught him doing to me."

She looked down at his friend, who looked dismayed. She wasn't sure if it were at the fact that they were caught or if it was by James' words. "Are you gay, Zandar?"

"I don't know," the other boy said finally, he looked down at his hands in his lap. "I … I tried to do those things with Amber."

"Hardly," she interrupted.

"But, when it comes to girls I just don't know what to do. Or what I want from them," he sighed helplessly. "We don't do this all the time. It's usually only when one of us is hard up and I happen to be at the castle or visa versa."

"What did you intend to do once you got married?" She asked, because it had to be asked. "Where the two of you going to keep doing this?"

"Why would you even bother to ask that? How do you think I could marry him after walking in on that?" Her sister belted out, "This is the utmost type of rejection that a woman could receive, I know you'll have a hard time understanding it because your fiance quite obviously wants you. Mine would rather be with my brother!"

"I don't know," the dejected boy on the floor replied. His voice had cracked, "I've struggled with this. I tried hard to connect with her!"

She waved a hand at her sister, she really didn't need the reminder of her own problems with her fiance. "We have to talk about this, I know that you can come to some sort of agreement. I understand that your feelings are hurt, Amber, but you also need to consider some things." She looked back at Zandar, "Why are you afraid about what your parents will think?"

"Our engagement was settled when we hit fifteen," he said. "My father forbid me from even looking at any other girls, I thought for a while that I had a crush on Hildegarde. But, I never got the opportunity to see that through. Why do you think I am always in Enchancia? Because they wanted me to connect with Amber." He sighed and pulled his knees to his chest, "He thought, since we went to school with one another and I was such good friends with James that the match would be good. Plus, there's an agreement between our fathers."

"If dad finds out about it, I know he's going to be angry," James offered as well. "I don't know what he'll say if Amber decides to end their engagement."

"How could I not? Why would I continue on this farce when he would obviously rather be with you?" Her voice started to quake, "I am going to end up like Hildegarde, struggling to find an available prince and end up being a duchess."

She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to find her patience to deal with her sister's vanity. "There's a solution here, if you would all just consider it," she sighed. "Your options are minimal at best. You can end your engagement and all three get grief from your parents."

"Why would I catch any sort of grief? This is hardly my fault!" Amber complained.

"Or," she glared at her sister. "You can continue on with it. However," she looked to her brother and his friend. "I think it would be important that the two of you decide what you are. If you are gay, then continuing on with this engagement isn't likely to be a good course of action."

"I don't have a choice in this matter, Sofia," Zandar argued. "My parents aren't likely to accept anything less than what they've set up for me. Even if I wanted an open relationship with James they wouldn't accept it."

And, suddenly, it was as if she wasn't alone. She wasn't the only one trapped in an arrangement of her parents' doing. She tried to offer him a weak smile, but it threatened to become watery. "Is that what you want?"

He looked as his expression threatened to be watery as well, he struggled visibly, "I'm comfortable with the arrangement we had. It was so easy."

"There's no true fix for this is there?" Amber asked suddenly, standing. "The best route would be to go to Daddy. Why try to come up with some sort of solution? I don't want to compete with my brother for affection from my husband." She stomped her foot at the end.

"What if he doesn't let you end it, Amber?" She looked at her sister, "What if the stakes of his agreement with Zandar's parents is more important?"

"What are you talking about?" She met her gaze, "Daddy wouldn't force this..."

"Isn't he already?"

Her sister fell quiet for a long moment, looking confused as she considered it. "Then what do you suggest we do, Sofia?"

"Look past it," she looked at Zandar, "Make an effort to make it work. If you find that you would prefer men to women then end it."

"I couldn't if I did," he interjected. "I would need to be in a relationship with a woman and produce an heir. I don't know how understanding your kingdom is about these things, but it's forbidden in Tangu."

"So let him have lovers then?"

She tried not to roll her eyes and sighed, "Consider giving him a chance. Let him figure himself out and be supportive."

"You're awful quick to throw out this advice, Sofia," her sister shot back at her. "Are you going to take it yourself?"

She frowned at her sister, "I'm not fighting my own engagement. I've given him a chance, Amber." She folded her arms over her chest and glared, "The situation is different. You can't compare it."

"Really, Sofia? Why not?" She stood, suddenly looking combative, "How is my situation any different than yours?"

"Because Victor wants me," she snapped at her. "He's older and he knows what he wants, despite whether or not I may want it. We're still young, we haven't figured out what it is that we all may want. But, if you're so eager to turn this on me then I have to point out that I have given the man the chance. I agreed to the arrangement and I quit fighting it." She tried to reign in her anger now, "If you are so stuck on being a queen then you need to consider your options or else you will be stuck like Hildegarde."

"So, you're telling me that I should give Zandar a chance to decide that he would rather have my brother than me?" She raised an eyebrow, "It sounds like you are more than willing to consider his perversions, would you rather have him and we can see if we can arrange that Victor have me instead."

She deadpanned for a moment, because deep down to her it didn't matter if the other boy would prefer her brother to her. "Gladly, if you're willing going to take Victor with the knowledge of all that he's done to me, I would gladly accept Zandar," her voice was low and Amber was being a bit unreasonable, she needed to see what she was asking for.

Amber hesitated, seeming to remember the embarrassment at the tailor and the things that her friend insinuated. "Fine," she said stiffly. "If I'm going to give him the opportunity to decide what he wants and continue with our engagement, but I have some demands."

"What are they?" Zandar asked, looking both hopeful and afraid.

"You will not entertain yourself in James' room," she went to the door.

"Amber," her brother started, sounding angry. "You can't keep him from being my friend!"

"I'm not trying to, but if I have to be faithful to the man I am made to marry then he should give me the same respect," she shot back. "It's apparent that you can't be trusted alone together. So, unless you have a better idea than Sofia does I suggest you keep your hands to yourself."

She looked to her brother again, seeing the outrage in his face, "She's not wrong."

"Are we going to come to an agreement on this?" Amber asked, her expression cold.

"Yes," Zandar stood, looking at her sister with something akin to relief. "I will make an effort to be a better fiancé. I will be more attentive, I promise."

"I am going to go to my room," Amber said dismissively. "My head is pounding and I feel like I need to lay down." She went to the door and slid it open, "I hope to you later to talk, Zandar." With that she was out of the room, though it didn't help the tension.

Zandar was quick to start gathering his clothing, pulling his undershirt on and then slipping into his tunic. "I'm sorry," he paused in dressing to look at her brother. "We both knew that this would have to stop eventually."

"That doesn't make me happy about it," he complained.

"I guess it just means you will have to actually work at connecting with your wife to be," he tried to sound reassuring. "Like I have got to do with my own." He paused and put a hand on his shoulder, they didn't speak for a moment but the emotions were clear on her brother's expression. Whatever the exchange was, the other boy left the room putting a close to the awkward situation that they had created.

But it left her alone with her brother, who she became increasingly aware that he was in a state of undress that she hadn't seen him in before. She struggled not to look, even with the ache in her lower stomach for some ungodly reasons she felt compelled to spy at him. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I feel really stupid," he grumbled. "If I would have just locked the door we could have avoided all of this."

"For how long?" She looked at him now, but at his face and pointedly ignoring his bare chest.

His expression was a combination irritation and pain, "I don't know. I just didn't expect it to end so soon."

"Why were you doing it?" Curiosity, she couldn't help but ask.

He shrugged, flushing, "It's like I said. We started experimenting. It felt good and it was hard to stop when they became engaged. He wanted to. And we did for a little while, then… Well," He looked embarrassed and suddenly seemed to notice that he was half dressed. He went to his bed and found his undershirt that he quickly pulled over his head, "It was easy and there seemed like there was no effort. We have no reason to try to impress one another, didn't have to give each other gifts or any of that crap."

"Was it just…," she struggled with the word, flushing herself, "sex?"

"We never actually did it," he snapped at her, finding his jacket and sliding into it. "Neither of us really liked the idea of being on the receiving end. So, we just did the other stuff." He struggled with the buttons, not looking at her, "When Amber suggested that you trade, you got her to change her mind really quick. Why?"

She grimaced at him, of course he would try to get the focus off of himself. "That's not really important. Zandar seems to think his parents will be really angry if they found out, you need to respect that and just be friends."

He gave her a look, his expression schooled into looking unconcerned and cool, "I will respect that." He cleared his throat and leveled a look at her, "Now will you answer my question?"

She glowered at him, "Because he didn't want Hildegarde. And if she wants to be queen then she's not likely to be queen anytime soon with Victor."

"There's more to it than that," he commented as he finished dressing. He turned away from her so he could finish lacing up his trousers. "You have just seen what I've been hiding from everyone for the last five years. I think you can share something."

She winced and looked away, "I sort of got caught, too."

"She walked in on you, too?" He made a noise, sounding frustrated. "Have to remember to start locking the door."

"No," she whimpered and sighed. "But, he left a mark and she saw it. Happy?"

He looked curious and looked as if he were ready to ask more before he shrugged it off. "I guess I can trust you not to tell mom and dad. Right?" He gave her the look, it wasn't entirely different from the pleading looks that Amber would give her. Though, it was more puppy dog and less feminine wiles. "Right?"

She looked evenly at him, trying to not be aggravated with him. James had a way of worming his way out of her just like their sister did. "I won't. Just, if you're sure that you don't want more from Zandar other than his friendship, please respect Amber's requests."

"I will," he opened the door to his room for them both to leave. "I guess I should try to actually be interested in girls. Just the actual effort it will take …"

She could only offer him a shrug in return, stepping out of his room. She didn't know the struggle so she couldn't offer him anything more than sympathy. "I'm going to go lay down," she feigned tiredness, "I'll see you later."

"Yea," he sounded frustrated. "I'll talk to you later."

She went back to her bedroom and closed the doors behind her, trying her best to not be distracted by the actions of her brother. They were mind boggling, she was about to sit down at her window seat when she remembered something. She had been asked to write to him. It wasn't as if she didn't have anything else to do. She went to her writing table and pulled out a sheet of parchment. She didn't have the desire to mingle with the rest of the occupants of the castle and she wasn't quite ready to face her sorcerer. But, maybe 'speaking' to another person would be a good way to settle her mind.

She sat and after dipping her quill into an ink well began a short letter to her fiance. She kept it formal, asking about his health and the wellness of his kingdom. She put a short description of the things she had done since she last saw him, omitting the part that she had just witnessed, and signed it with … how she wished to see him soon. The words stared back at her from the paper.

They were a lie and she knew it.

He would probably know it, too. Or, he would think she was serious and decide to pay her a visit earlier than she expected. She hesitated long enough, she thought, and signed the letter. She dusted it, to assist the ink in drying and stood. She would get this to her father so that he could see it delivered to her fiance. She was sure the idea of her writing him would please her father, too.

She wasn't entirely sure that was something she was after, or wanted. He seemed to be hiding things from her and she couldn't figure out why. She stood and went to her door, leaving her sanctuary and going to find her father. She paused just off the throne room and listened. It was quiet, the only people likely to be occupying it were guards.

She went on to his study and listened closely, before knocking. "Come in," her father answered. She opened his door and peered in, seeing him alone she stepped in, "Sofia, is everything alright?" He looked mildly frustrated and she was sure if she pressed him for anything he wouldn't be pleased.

She held the folded parchment,"Victor said that I needed to see you to send him correspondence."

He blinked, looking surprised, "You wrote him a letter?"

"That's what he wanted," she said with a nod. "Before he left he said that I would need to see you to get it delivered to him?" She was curious, wondering if there was a special bird or something that did the delivering. She looked to the large windows that occupied one wall, was it a dragon that would send and fetch letters between them?

She looked to her father and noticed him pulling a large candlestick from a drawer. It was thick and squat, there appeared to be runes etched into it and the base looked as if a sleeping dragon was coiled around it. The candle it held was also broad and had a chard look to it. As if it had been burned by dragon's fire.

He stood and went to the fireplace that had a low flame burning in it. He took an unlit candle from the mantle and lit it with the flame there. Carefully, he used his hand to protect the flame as he brought it back to the candle on his desk. He lit the candle and sat back a moment, the flame that burned on the candle had a darker tinge to it than the normal flame. "Well now, I think I have got it set up," he smiled at her. "I'm happy to see that you are writing him. I know he requested that you do that before he left, but I was a little disappointed to see that you hadn't until just now."

She looked embarrassed at him for a moment, trying to not let his scolding get to her. "I've been busy, what with a wedding to plan. In four months, almost three now." She did have a card up her sleeve, "Amber has been keeping me busy. I'm surprised I had enough time to go assist Mister Cedric the other day much less sit down to write a letter."

He looked away, knowing that she was right about all of it, "Well, if you have the letter all we need to do is put it into the flame."

"This is how you send him messages?" She came closer to his desk, offering him the folded parchment as she looked at the candle with open curiosity. "How does it work?"

"I will put your letter into the fire," he did as he said. The fire started to greedily consume the paper. Before their eyes it went to ash. "It's not really burned to pieces. There's something magic about the candle that is connected to one in Victor's kingdom. So, whatever I put into this candle will appear at his candle."

"But it burned," she said.

"I see it's got your interest," he chuckled as he watched her crouch to eye to candlestick and candle more closely. "I couldn't tell you how it works. I enjoyed magic science, but the actual magic part was never really my forte."

"What does it look like when he sends you something in return?"

"The fire gets bigger," he commented. "And like, well, magic a letter appears. You can't send anything more than a letter. If you wanted to send him anything more than that we would have to charter a bird to send it to him."

"What more would I send him?"

"When I was courting Amber's and James' mother she would send me trinkets and things she had made for me," he shrugged slightly, it wasn't often that he spoke of her step siblings' mother. "It was a way that we connected when we were apart. Maybe you can think of things to make Victor and we will see about sending them to him?"

"I'll consider it," she said as she paid more attention to the candle than her father's suggestion. "How do you know if he got it?"

"I don't," he answered honestly. "He's usually quick about responding to let me know he's received the message. You don't have to sit and wait for a response. I'll be sure to give you any message he might have for you." It was a subtle suggestion that she take her leave, she didn't miss it.

But, she decided to ignore it. "If he has the ability to create something like this with magic, why did he need Mister Cedric to make a reservoir?"

"I offered for Cedric to do it, he didn't say that he couldn't do it himself. Now, Victor has petitioned Cedric to also magically create the Inn and stables. I don't know that he has his own sorcerer like we do," he paused picking up a scroll and started scanning it. "Sometimes magic artifacts like this are passed down. He gave this one to me when I agreed to hear him out on his first visit."

"Has Mister Cedric seen this?" Now she had the overwhelming desire to talk to him about it.

"Yes, Cedric saw it and witnessed me using it. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious, I've never seen anything like it," she gave him a slight glance. "I like magic, it never really loses it's fascinating charm."

"So that's why you are so attached to Cedric?" He chuckled uneasily, "Your mother worried that it was for different reasons."

She flushed and stood, giving the candle one last look. Her mother always seemed to know her too well, "Mister Cedric is nice if you look past all the gruffiness." She gave him a smile, trying to smother her own sudden awkwardness, they had worried that she had a fascination with the royal sorcerer. They didn't realize how right they were, she suddenly felt pinned and needed an escape. "I'm going to go see about lunch, are you going to join us at the table?"

"I've got a lot of work to see to, I'll see you at dinner though," he smiled at her.

"See you later then," she gave him a wave then, struggling not to run, she left his study.

She went on to the dining room and sat for a light lunch. Though, all that was present at the table was her and her mother. Both of her siblings had decided to take their lunch alone. "I don't know what's wrong with them," her mother gave her a look from across the table. "They both seemed fine this morning, but when I asked Baileywick where they were he said they both had decided to stay in their rooms." She picked lightly at her own salad, "Zandar is with Amber, though I'm not entirely comfortable with him being in her room."

"I don't think you have to worry about them doing anything, Mom," she tried to reassure her. She would be surprised if Amber let her fiance put a hand on her after what she had walked in on, "Amber knows better."

"Well," her mother smiled then took a bite of her salad. After chewing and swallowing, "I am glad that you think that. How are you doing? You look a little pale."

"Ah," she winced. "Mother nature is really kicking my butt. I feel like I got hit in the gut, but I'm managing."

"Well, maybe you should consider eating something with a bit more merit to it. You should check to see if Chef Andre has any walnuts or peanuts in his storage room," she took a sip of her water and then folded her hands under her chin, apparently finished with her meal. "Are you sure you are alright with all of this?"

She met her mother's gaze, knowing no matter what she would say her mother would see right through her. "I'm alright as I could be. I know you're against it. Victor's not so bad, as far as I can tell," she shrugged slightly. "Being a princess has its advantages and disadvantages, I guess." She met her mother's worried gaze evenly, "Can I even change my mind? I think that both dad and Victor has made it clear that there's no turning back from this."

Her mother looked upset, "I'm sorry I pressed you to give him a chance. Your father wouldn't leave it be. He couldn't understand why you wouldn't want to accept." She looked away and put her hands down into her lap, "Is it because you love someone else?"

"Even if I did," she started to argue, "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Why did you accept then? Does he not love you in return?" Her mother looked at her, there was something mournful in her expression.

She looked away, not wanting to give away just who it was that had her heart. "He told me to accept it," she confessed. "So I did."

Her mother was quiet for a time and they both sat at the dining table even though it was evident they were done with their meal. She started to stand, not wanting to continue the conversation. Aside from being a terrible liar, it was near impossible for her to hide anything from her mother. She feared that the next question she would ask was who. "I don't suppose I already know who it is," her mother stood as well.

She froze for a moment before turning to look at her mother, "I've not done anything with him. Please, I don't want him to get in trouble-"

"I wouldn't do that," her mother interrupted. "I know if he told you to go ahead accept the proposal your father insisted you take then he has your best interests at heart." She came around the table to meet her, "Your father has his theories about it, though after your acceptance of Victor he's brushed them away. I don't think he's in any danger. Just … just as long as the two of you don't change your mind and run away together."

"I'm still here," she said, they both starting to walk to the door of the dining room.

"I know," her mother smiled weakly. "I'm going to go check on your brother and sister, see what has the two of them up in arms."

She stood by the doors, watching as her mother went to the stairs, going up to the floor where their bedrooms were. She didn't want to follow, she felt uncomfortable with the fact that her parents seemed to know about her infatuation with her sorcerer. She hadn't thought herself that obvious. At least not with that.

She started walking aimlessly, having no real direction where she wanted to go or what she wanted to do. Of course, when she looked up she would find herself at the door of her sorcerer. She grimaced, because he seemed to occupy even her subconscious thoughts. She knocked on his door and waited patiently for him to open the door.

He opened it and looked aloof at the sight of her, "Princess."

She hesitated, feeling unsure after what had happened not so long ago. "May I come in?"

He raised an eyebrow at her and stepped aside, opening the door wider so she may enter. She stepped in and went to her stool, sitting down and finding herself at a loss as to what to say. "Did you need something?"

"I'm going to need more chastenberry," she confided. "I don't think I will be able to survive the mood swings or much of anything else without it."

He closed his door and went to his potions cabinet, pulling out a couple of vials. He brought them to her and she couldn't will herself to look at his face. "Once you've used them, I will have more ready for you. What have you got? Three? Four more days of it?"

She nodded and found herself immediately downing one of the potions, "I know I should be used to it by now, but it always seems to catch me off guard. Then hits me so hard I can barely manage to keep it together."

He sat down beside her, a deep grimace on his face as he clearly had some distaste for the subject of their conversation. "Well, I suppose you will just have to grin and bare it. Not much more you can do, I'm afraid." He shifted uncomfortable in his seat, "Is that all you came here for?"

"I'm sorry," she said suddenly. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I can't imagine how it made you feel."

"You needn't apologize," he said evenly, when she looked at him she found him pursuing a book. "It was quite apparent that you weren't the aggressor in that situation. I do have an uncomfortable question for you, though," he swallowed hard enough she could hear it. She studied him as he busied himself with things so he wouldn't have to meet her gaze, "Is he aware of your... your affections towards me?"

"He suspected that I cared for someone else," she confided, because there was no point in hiding it. "He's not been around enough to see how much time I spend here. So, I don't think he's connected you to being the person I care about." Now was a good idea to drop a bombshell, "Mom knows, or I'm pretty sure she knows."

He shot her a wide eyed look, the distress apparent in the way he suddenly stood up to take a large step from her, "They suspected that I had something for you. You're position as royal sorcerer isn't in any danger. Not since I've accepted Victor's request. As far as she's concerned as long as we don't run off there's no reason to do anything about it." She deflated, "She probably thinks it's just some childish infatuation."

"I would like to think the same," he said with a sigh, perhaps from relief. "But, apparently, I know you better than your mother in that aspect." He sat back into his chair and looked tired, "Though I don't know if it would matter either way if it was purely infatuation or true affection. Neither of us have acted upon it, no matter how often you've tempted me. I don't believe there is enough evidence to give them cause to sack me." He gave a shaky breath and rubbed a hand over his face as he digested the information she had given him, "Your fiance," he said with a hint of a growl in his voice. "Is another matter altogether. He strikes me as a dangerous man, I don't know that he would react in the same manner your father might."

Her brows drew together, had he heard the exchange that they had as Victor had pulled her away from the group, "You think he's dangerous?"

"I think, if he felt so inclined, that he would eviscerate me for being overly familiar with you instead of sack me as your father would," he eyed her curiously. "I am taking it your father has completely written off the fact that the man had a dragon to do his bidding?"

She nodded, "He didn't seem to be phased by it. I didn't get the righteous indignation from him like I thought I would. He just seemed to shrug it off, I think he knows something that he's not telling me."

"What possibly could that be?"

She could only shrug helplessly, she handed him back the empty vial and stood, keeping the full one close. "It's hard to say. I'm going to go lay down," she offered him a weak smile. "Thanks for the potions." She turned to go to his door, feeling a little better about the situation between them. At least he didn't appear to hate her.

"Sofia," he called to her and she stopped to look back at him. He remained in his chair, gazing at her with something of a mournful look. "Should you change your mind, my offer will still stand. The days are dwindling away before he completely steals you away, if you feel that you have no other option I understand. But, if you would care to be taken away from all of this. I would find a safe place to keep you."

She smiled at him, fighting the urge to go to him and throw her arms around him. "Thank you, Mister Cedric." With that, she opened his door and walked out of it. She headed back to the sanctuary of her room.

* * *

So, I think I'm going to glaze over some things (the not so important things) in the coming chapters and speed things along so they don't slow down between now and the wedding and other things. I don't want to get bored with it and I would hate for anyone else to. So, I'm going to pick up the pace a little in the coming chapters.

See ya 3


	9. Chapter 9

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story is rated M for mature, meaning there is mature content ahead. This chapter does contain some things that may not be good for minors. I've noticed that I've developed a fetish for dry humping. And while there's nothing really graphic about dry humping, there's some other things in here that are. So um. Yea. Dry humping /snicker

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

There's a bit that I intended to include in the next chapter, but well. I started writing it and just kinda tacked it on the end instead. /shrug wutvs it works. Henrick. Bleh. They couldn't have told me this a few chapters ago? Also, going with the BWD version of Victor in the event you are curious as to what the armor looks like that I'm describing. I'll even go the extra mile and tell you that it's the heroic tier 11 dk set. I'm an overachiever. If you don't play the game and you're curious, again just google it.

* * *

The remainder of the month and those following started to dwindle away more quickly. The majority of her days were spent trying to occupy her thoughts with things other than her impending wedding. Her fiancé was giving, in a way. It wasn't long after receiving her first letter than he quickly answered. There was a bit of humor in his, as if he was making fun of the formal method she had written him.

He became more appealing because he wasn't present to overwhelm her senses. He, also, didn't use their letters as a means of seduction. Though, she supposed that was because he wasn't aware as to whether or not someone else might be reading them. While she didn't think her father would invade her privacy like that, she didn't feel any need to deter him. There was something to having an ongoing conversation with someone without having to worry about the things that he might be trying to do to her. Or have her do to him. It gave her a genuine desire to get to know him and she made an effort to share with him.

He became endearing on paper. Though, there was still this feeling that occupied her gut. Something that told her to not let down her guard. But, there was no flirtation in the letters.

She learned of some of the projects that he had been working on, his hobby. There was a lightning driven golem that he was testing as a means of protection for his kingdom. The golem itself was made of stone, but lightning gave it a means of movement and a way to combat anyone that may come across it. Though, he had run into a problem. It kept malfunctioning and there was one letter that occupied two pages of his complaints about the machine.

She read it, rampant at the idea. At first she had to find out what a golem was, a 'creature' that wasn't really alive. It was usually made of stone and magic gave it life. It wasn't really alive and only did as it was instructed.

After she read the letter, she immediately sat down to write a reply. She had so many questions about it and was eager to find out if he would be answering them, which he was quick to do. They spent several days throwing ideas about the dilemma back and forth at each other that her father got aggravated with how often she would venture into his study to send a letter to her fiancé. Though, he seemed to think their quick exchange to be on a romantic level which was far from the truth. His use of magic, getting it to manipulate things that was beyond her understanding, had took a hold of her attention.

The rest of her time was used keeping Amber entertained as she planned her wedding. The dress decided upon she was finally roped into looking at invitations that demanded to be sent out. She found herself staring at the delicately decorated parchment and trying her best to not find the whole thing ludicrous. She could only shrug then nod so they could get sent out and they became one less irritation in the planning process.

Two weeks after the embarrassing measurement fiasco, her sister had dragged her back to the tailor's shop. At the moment they were trying on the bodice and she was left in nothing but her bloomers as Madam Collette tightened the laces and pinned them closed, "Can you breathe well enough, Princess?" She nodded after a breath. She was directed to step into a light petticoat and, after a few short adjustments, that was pinned to the bodice. The tailor stepped about her and clucked to herself as she eyed her creation speculatively. "I will make the bodice as a corset. So you may forgo wearing one, this will allow you to breath a little easier and it won't be as uncomfortable." She paused and pressed her hand against her ribs, "The boning of it looks right, though I may work to give you a bit more support in the bust. Is it too tight anywhere?"

"It fits fine," she lowed her arms and grimaced down at her breasts. While they were covered, they still felt like they were somewhat on display.

"Don't fret, princess. I am far from finished. I will make it more modest," the tailor smiled at her. "I think this is enough. Let us get you lose, shall we?" With that she was extracted from the hold the half made garment had on her. Then they aided her in redressing.

Once they were ushered back into the coach she gave her sister a look, "Are you okay?"

"I'm managing," she replied, keeping her head high. "I think we should go pay Ruby and Jade a visit. I'm not particularly ready to go to the castle yet."

"Okay," she agreed. "I haven't really considered who to be my maid of honor. I guess... really. You are the main choice," she felt bad suddenly. "But I don't want to leave Ruby or Jade out of it."

"Well, now is the perfect opportunity to invite them to your wedding and then decide on the perfect thing for them to do," her sister hummed lightly before snapping her fingers then turning to look at her. "While Victor's lack of groomsmen does make it hard for you to have proper bride's maids. The length of your train will require you some assistance. They could still be bride's maids. They just wouldn't have the escort like you and I would. I don't see any reason that would ruffle their feathers or anyone else's for that matter."

She smiled, "That's a good idea. I think that would make both of them feel special." She winced, "I hadn't told them I was getting married, yet. Don't expect them to be happy to hear about it."

"Why are you being such a bad friend, Sofia? Hildegarde and Clio knew immediately when I was engaged to Zandar," her sister chided.

"This is different," she looked away to watch as they passed through the village. "Ruby and Jade know things about me that any princesses that I call friend wouldn't."

"So, they would have an idea as to why you fought being Victor's bride?"

She swallowed hard, refusing to look at her sister, "Probably." She sighed then shot her a glare, "Why are you still on about that anyway? I've accepted and you are currently planning our wedding. Why are you dwelling on it?"

"Because I have my theories," she smiled sweetly at her. "And I want to find out if I'm right."

"What's your theory?" She felt worried now, after they whole scene with James and Zandar she was worried that her sister may feel the need to air out her own secrets.

"I'll tell you if I'm right," her smile only widened.

The coach rolled to a halt just outside the house that Ruby lived in. And they both disembarked. She went to the door of the little cottage and tapped lightly on it, usually when she planned a visit with her friends she gave them a warning. She liked to let people know she was coming and she wasn't entirely sure about showing up out of the blue. There was only one person she really did that to.

The door opened and her friend smiled brightly at the both of them, "Sofia! Princess Amber! It's so great to see the both of you!" Her friend had filled out nicely, she had hips and a sway to her that she found herself jealous of. Her darker skin tone looked even and she would bet that Ruby never had to worry with things like makeup. "Come in, I'm sorry I wasn't expecting you I would have something to offer you. We can have tea though?"

"That will be wonderful, Ruby," her sister smiled then even went as far as to embrace the other girl, though Amber's idea of an embrace is brushing her cheek against theirs. Ruby only smiled and returned the favor, she was so used to the princess's stand offish behavior that it didn't seem to phase her a bit.

She turned to their coachman, "Could you go fetch Jade for us? Do you remember where she lives?"

He smiled brightly at her, though it had been a while since she visited with her friends he was used to the request. "Of course, Ma'am. I will be right back with her."

"Thank you," she waved to him as he went off in the coach.

She went into her friend's home and gave her a hug. A real one, wrapping her arms around her and squeezing. "Wow," Ruby commented before stepping out of the embrace. "I know it's been a while and I'm happy to see you, too. But," because she knew her so well. "Is everything okay?"

"It's better to wait until Jade gets here," Amber interrupted. "That way she can tell you both at the same time."

She received a worried look, "How about I help you get tea on?" She smiled and nodded and they all went into the quaint little kitchen. "How are things with you?"

"Things are going good, I've been working a lot in mom's shop. The butcher's boy has been trying to put the moves on me," she gave her a slight grin, showing that while she talked down about him she was interested in him. "I keep trying to shoo him away, but he doesn't seem to listen."

She shook her head at her, "Is he cute?"

"Girl," she rolled her eyes. "I'm not even paying attention to that." She put a kettle onto the cast iron stove top and then proceeded to shove another piece of wood into the already burning fire. "I'm assuming you've got something good for you both to be here. I can't even remember the last time I saw Princess Amber outside of a Royal event." Her features suddenly turned to look serious, "Is everything okay?"

"It's been a while since I've been able to come out to see you two," she answered honestly. "Some things happened and well... Amber's right. We should wait for Jade to get here."

"It shouldn't be too long," her sister sat at the kitchen table, looking pleased about something. "The coach is usually quick."

"Jade will be excited to see the both of you," Ruby went about getting tea cups. She set them out on the table, they didn't match but she wasn't worried about it. "She was just telling me the other day how she missed you. We were going to plan a trip to the castle. Were your ears burning? Is that why you came out here?"

"Sort of," she smiled weakly.

Fortunately, for her, there was a knock on the front door. The visitor didn't wait for an answer though, it swung open and her other friend entered. "Sofia!" She all but shouted at seeing her. She closed the door and ran into the kitchen, wrapping her up in a rough hug. "Gods it feels like it's been forever since I last saw you!" She noticed Amber at the table and pulled away, giving her a curtsy. "Princess Amber," she smiled impishly. "It's good to see you, too."

"Oh it better be," her sister stood and gave a similar embrace to Jade as she had to Ruby. "I know I'm not nearly as well known as Sofia, but I will claim the title of friend from both of you." She waved a hand to the table, "Girls, sit. We have some glorious news to drop on you."

The kettle started to whistle and she made a point to fetch it, she could feel the penetrating gaze of her friends on her back. She brought the kettle and the little container of honey to the table. "Well," Jade started with a little bit of irritation. "Are you going to spit it out or are you going to serve us all tea?"

She grimaced and met the gaze of her outspoken friend, Jade hadn't changed much over the years. She kept her hair cropped short above her shoulders and tended to be a bit more gruff than their friend Ruby. She hadn't filled out quite as much as Ruby had, she was still thin as a rail and lacked a little in the bust and hips. She sat down heavily in one of the chairs and the other two, Amber sat back because she already knew, leaned forward expectantly. "I'm engaged," she confided finally.

Ruby blinked, "Already?"

Jade look confused, "He asked?"

"Who are you talking about?" Amber trailed just behind them, looking irritated.

She was quick to shake her head, "There's a kingdom to the south of Enchancia, beyond the mountains. A prince came to the castle a couple of months ago. He asked for my hand." She grimaced as she looked down at her tea. "The wedding isn't much more than two months away."

"That soon?" Ruby asked, her expression stricken. "Do you even know him?"

"But... but... what about-"

"Jade," Ruby was quick to interrupt her, giving her a hard look.

She shrugged a little, giving Ruby a weak smile, "We have made an effort to get to know one another. We've been writing each other and we seem to have some similar interests."

"Have you seen him?" Jade sounded amazed that something like this could happen, "Don't tell me you agreed to this without having seen him first."

"Oh, don't be silly," her sister chuckled at their friends. "Of course she's seen him before, they have met. Don't look so ridiculous, really you should see your faces. Victor, the man she's promised to, is a very attractive man."

"But," Jade started again, looking at her with concern, "What about-"

"Jade stop," Ruby interrupted her again. "Not now." She sighed and leveled a look with her, "I'm guessing this is your only option?"

"Why are you talking like this is a bad thing?" Amber asked, "The man is attractive, it's evident that his kingdom is wealthy. You both look like she was just sentenced to something terrible."

She decided to ignore her sister's complaints, "It's part of being a princess. Unfortunately, you have to do what's good for your kingdom."

"But," Jade started again stopping when she caught a look from Ruby. "What about the person you love?"

She could only shrug, "What about the person you love?" Her sister gave her a suspicious look before sipping her tea. "Do tell us about that person."

She grimaced, "There's nothing that can be done for that. He knows and he encouraged me to go through with it." She looked down into her tea cup, getting lost in the murky liquid, "Really, we couldn't have been together. He knew that, I just... I guess I was just fooling myself thinking I could dodge suitors long enough to where it wouldn't matter." It was enough to cause her sister to grow quiet, "I don't have a choice in the matter from either side."

"But, he knows how you feel, right?" She didn't know how to let things go, that was Jade. She clung furiously to things.

"He does," she admitted. "He just… He just doesn't think it could happen. He's tried for the last year or so to keep me at arms length." She didn't tell them about the offer, they didn't need to know that he wanted her to run away with him.

Her friends looked at her mournfully, they seemed to understand better than anyone else had. Until, "It's Cedric," her sister whispered a bit dramatically. She could only stare at her. First her mother and now her sister, "You are serious! It is him! I don't know how I missed it before!"

"Amber," she struggled to move past her shock. "Don't, please this is really important. This is his career. You can't tell anyone."

"Oh," she looked embarrassed, "I'm not going to tell anyone. But, really? You would choose Cedric over Victor? I … I don't know what to say, you are doing so much better with Victor in all departments," she winced. "The man doesn't even hold a candle to him."

"Amber," Ruby started. "It's love. It's different and more than just about what a person looks like or how rich they are. It's how they make you feel." She looked sad, perhaps because she realized that neither of the princesses were going to get a real 'happily ever after.' Ruby always had a way of seeing things and being so understanding. "There's more to it." She looked to her again, "What else is there?"

Amber cleared her throat and pulled out of seemingly nowhere two heavy, gold inlay envelopes. She hadn't even noticed her carrying them. "Getting you two to the wedding is important. Sofia's chosen me to be her maid of honor. There's not enough groomsmen to go around for conventional bridesmaids, but… It's really important to her, and to me really, that you two are included in the wedding."

"I don't know about Ruby," Jade started. "But, I know I couldn't afford a gown worthy of a royal wedding."

Amber waved a hand nonchalantly, "I don't want to even hear a thing about cost or not being able to afford anything. We will handle the cost, of course, since you are going to be in Sofia's wedding. I will petition Madame Collette for two additional gowns, similar to my own, and she will make them and you will wear them."

Ruby couldn't hide her amusement, "Could we even say no?"

"Of course not," Amber said with a knowing smile. "I'm so glad you are seeing it my way. Now, my birdies, we will have an appointment at the tailor for ten a week from now. Dress lightly, you'll need to be measured."

"Will we be able to meet this Prince Victor?" Jade asked, there was a hint of contempt for him and she hadn't even had the opportunity to meet him.

"I don't know," she could only shrug. "I know he's suppose to visit with dad soon to discuss plans about an inn and stables that they are building on the route to his kingdom. When, I don't know for sure. He only eluded to it the last time I saw him."

"Well," Jade started with a bit of her hardheadedness. "I want to meet him. If he's taking you away from us I think we should be able to."

"I'm sure we will find time to do that, Jade," Amber reassured them both. "He's really a charming man. I know both of you will instantly like him."

"I hope you're right," Jade said with a bit of testiness.

She started to speak herself, to try to soothe the worry in two of her oldest friends but there was a knock at the door, interrupting them. Ruby stood up wearily and went to open the door, seeing the coachman. "I'm sorry to interrupt your visit, ma'am. But I was told to bring the princesses back to the castle. The king has summoned them," he looked apologetic, knowing that it wasn't often that they got to venture out here to visit her village friends. "If you like, Miss Jade, I can drop you back off at your cottage?"

Jade stood and followed Ruby to the door, hearing the coachman. She shook her head, "Thanks Mister Lewis, but I think I'm going to stay here with Ruby and have lunch. I can find my own way home."

"Alright, love, you two take care of yourselves," he stepped out of the doorway.

She and Amber stood, going to the door. Amber exchanged her version of a hug with each of the other girls then went to board the carriage. She lingered, hugging each hard and trying her best to give them some sort of reassurance. "I've missed you," she whispered for both to hear.

"We've missed you, too," Ruby echoed.

"We are going to see you before the wedding and meet this Prince," Jade stressed before letting her go.

"Yes," she agreed. Smiling at her friends, putting on a brave face, "Next time I promise to give you guys warning. That way it's less of a shock."

"I don't care if you show up on my door step out of nowhere, Sofia," Ruby said. "If it's a chance to see you then it doesn't matter."

"We'll talk later," Jade emphasized with a hard look. "I know you get busy quite a bit and you have a lot on your plate, but you need someone outside of the castle to talk to."

"Don't worry, when I get the chance. The first chance I get. I'll be out here knocking on your door," she started towards the carriage, giving her friends a smile. "I promise." With that she climbed in and sat down next to her sister, the coachman shut the door and climbed up in front then clicked at the horses to get them rolling.

They made it a block away from Ruby's house before her sister cracked, "Cedric? Really?"

"Is it that hard believe?" She sighed frustrated now, "Just because you don't find him attractive doesn't mean other people might not. Besides to each their own, remember?" She looked straight ahead for a while, not wanting to think about the trouble her sister would cause her, "Please keep this between us."

"You are keeping a secret for me, really our brother but," she could practically hear her rolling her eyes, though she wasn't looking at her sister. "You're keeping this secret, I can keep yours."

"Thank you," she sighed lightly. "How are things with Zandar?"

"He's keeping to his word," she admitted. "He's being more attentive than he was before and seems to be making an effort to connect with me." She glanced at her sister then, seeing a faint blush color her cheeks. "He kissed me, before he left last week while we were in the garden. He's never kissed me like that before." She watched her sister look down at her hands, "I felt like he might actually want me."

She smiled at her, "I'm hope that after everything you can look past what happened."

"We'll see, Sofia," she heaved a sigh. "We will see. I wonder why we had to come back to the castle early. Daddy said he didn't have any business where he would need the coach, the ground coach at that. It's odd that he would summon us back like this."

She blinked, having not considered it, "I don't know, that's a good question." They rolled up to the castle gates and into them, nothing looked out of the ordinary. When they came to a halt just outside the main entryway, "Everything looks fine."

The driver got down from his seat and quickly came to open the door for them, "I don't know why he sent for us, Milady. Just that he did."

She stood and stepped down out of the coach, turning to wait on her sister, "Maybe he wanted something, let's go see."

"Well it better be good," Amber primped as she stepped out of the coach. "I know we were done at the tailor, but I was having a good time with Ruby and Jade."

She took her sister's hand and put it around her elbow, "Let's go see what's up then." They first went to the throne room, expecting that if there was trouble that was where their father would be. When they didn't find him there she led them on to his study. It seemed to be the one sure fire place to find him. She tapped on the door and waited politely to be told that she could enter.

Her father didn't answer, but the door slid open. Victor smiled at the both of them and gestured for them to enter. "Princesses, how lovely it is to see you." He stood at the door in all his foreboding glory that his dark armor seemed to radiate.

She stood still at the door, surprised to see him. "Oh, so this had to be why you summoned us back to the castle?" Her sister started beside her, "Did you not know he was coming for a visit, Sofia?"

She blinked, staring at the man as he waved them into the room again, "I didn't …"

"Because I didn't tell you, come in. Let me enjoy your company," he smiled at her.

Amber pulled her in, having a firm hold on her arm now and they both went to the small lounge that took up the left side of her father's study. She sat besides Amber eyeing her fiancé curiously. An unannounced visit? "We were in the village," her sister supplied to her father. "We were seeing to the invitations for Sofia's village friends. I thought, since she grew up with them for the most part that it was important that they attend such a life altering event."

Victor closed the doors behind them and came to sit carefully on the arm of the couch that they occupied, sitting close to her. "Life altering, indeed," he quipped. "I did warn you the last time I saw you that I needed to see your father about plans for the Inn. That's what I'm here for."

"He is why I summoned Sofia to the castle," her father said from his desk, watching them with some amusement. "If you had wanted you could have stayed in the village."

"I believe it's almost time lunch," she answered, she released her arm and stood. "I think I might go see to that. Will you be coming down to the table?"

"Actually, we will be taking lunch in here. There's a lot we have to discuss and review. Victor's only here for a short visit so we have a lot of work to do," their father answered for the both of them.

"Sofia?" Her sister turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually," Victor chuckled. "I was hoping since I am here only a day, that she could stay while we have our discussions. She has quite an interesting way of thinking and maybe she could offer some insight on the things we may find ourselves struggling with." He looked at her and offered her a charming smile, "Unless, of course, she objects."

She blinked at him, "How long will you be here? A day?"

"Well, assuming we come to an agreement on the plans I will stay the night and get up to leave in the morning," he frowned lightly. "Only a short visit, I'm afraid."

"I'll be staying here for lunch, Amber," she looked to her sister. "Mom will probably be at the table."

"Oh, I don't doubt that," she released a sigh. "As will James." She walked out of the room with a little bit of a huff.

"I don't know what has them two cross with each other," her father stood, picking up scrolls. He brought them to the low table that sat in front of the lounge that she and Victor occupied. He rolled one out and they all peered at it. "It seems like they squabble more with each other than Sofia and Amber ever did, I thought twins were supposed to be close."

"I think it's more about being brother and sister more so than twins," Victor commented as he peered at the offered plans. "I know even in our advancing age, my sister and I still fight."

"Always got along well with my sister," her father quipped. "But, well, when you get the opportunity to meet her you'll see. Tilly is a very easy going person. She's got a way with people and I think she always has." He shot a smile at her, "Sofia is similar to her aunt. Even if there's no blood relation."

"There doesn't have to be blood relation to consider someone family," she commented lightly as she eyed the plans. At first it was hard to discern what she was looking out until she got a grasp of it. It was a floor plan, a lower level plus an upstairs. The majority of the lower floor appeared to have a hearth, a bar, and a kitchen. The upstairs offered three rooms, one of which was larger and split into two rooms. "Where would the people that ran the inn stay?"

"There's not a basement included in the plans either," Victor commented. "There was a few days of bad weather out there and, aside from the benefits of storage, it would give anyone staying in there a sound place to wait out any foul weather."

"Was there a tornado?" She asked curiously.

"Not that I'm aware of, but," one side of his mouth turned up just slightly, "I find in some matters, it's better to be safe rather than sorry."

"You have a point," her father muttered. "These plans don't offer any underground expansions that I can see." He rolled it up and set it on the floor as he unrolled another one, this one appearing a bit bigger. "This one does supply a basement."

She looked with interest at the next set of plans that offered a basement, which appeared to be just one large underground room. The ground floor was similarly styled after the first set of plans, however there looked to be a room beneath the stairs that seemed to be big enough for one person. "How many people will be running the inn?"

"I have one man set to manage it," Victor supplied. "Does there need to be more?" He sounded curious.

"Well, you have to consider some things," she gave her father and her fiancé a look. "You'll need a cook, if you're going to charter a room from a place you'll also need to eat. Someone to clean and tend to the rooms. Even if there aren't many rooms, people tend to be messy when they aren't staying at their own home."

"I try not to be messy," her fiancé muttered.

"So, at minimum you will need three people to care for the inn. Don't forget the stable as well. Someone will need to tend to horses and carriages," she pointed out.

Her father straightened and looked down at the plans, seemingly lost in thought. "She has a point," he said lightly. "We may be better to expand on this and build another place for them to call home. We already have to supply a home for the farmers."

"This is turning into a village," Victor complained.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," she looked at him. "If the agreement between my father and you is a good one, and a lasting one. Wouldn't you want your people to have a place to mingle and meet our people?"

He looked to be deep in thought as he considered it, her father seemed to be watching him as she was. "It's not entirely a bad idea," he offered them, knowing he was under scrutiny. "It will just prove to be more expensive and require more time to clear out an appropriate area, we have a large enough area available now for the creation of an inn and stables. For a cottage or two more would require more area cleared."

"You weren't expecting to get out there and get the inn created today, were you?" Her father asked.

"No," he waved a hand as if waving away the idea. "Not at all. I just wanted it settled so, once we were prepared it could be done easily and we can work on getting things ready for actual occupants. I like to plan ahead," he offered them a smile.

"Nothing wrong with that," her father said with an answering smile, he went to the cord that hung close to his desk and gave it a pull. "I'm getting hungry. What about you two?"

"I definitely could eat," he said. Standing and adjusting a strap under one of his pauldrons. "Though, I think I might consider getting out of this armor. Do you mind?" He unbuckled a strap and the pauldrons loosened and then fell, landing heavily on the lounge beside her. Curiously, the fiery glow that they had seemed to diminish. He rolled his shoulders and saw her eyeing his armor, he picked up on of them and offered it to her.

"Not at all," her father commented as he seemed to pursue something on his desk. He picked up a quill and began taking a note.

She took the offered pauldron and nearly dropped it, the plate was heavy. The grinning skull looked emptily up at her and the horns that coiled around it gave it a very frightening look, even without the glow that seemed to cling to it. "It's heavy," she said as she turned it to look away from her. She swallowed hard before turning it to look back at her, "What was the reason that you wear it again?"

"It's a matter of a precaution, also, while your father may not find it necessary to wear armor because Enchancia is a safe kingdom with little dangers," he started working buckles loose on his breastplate as he spoke. "Nigrum isn't particularly dangerous, but with dragons and the likes that there are some dangers that might require one to wear armor." Once he was free of the breastplate he set it upon the floor and gave a light sigh of relief as he was relieved of the burden. She couldn't help, but flush as she watched him removed the last pieces that encased his arms and torso. He wasn't shirtless, but there was something to seeing him undress. He didn't go on to remove more of the armor though, so she assumed he had nothing beneath the leg plates. The thought only seemed to make her more flustered.

He took notice and gave her a slight smirk, she was sure that even with a short visit that he would find a way to have an intimate moment with her. "The armor is intimidating, the skulls," she held up the pauldron in her hand to show the grinning skull to her father. "Are frightening. Is there a reason for that?"

"Call it more of a reminder of my status in my kingdom," he answered before he sat beside her on the lounge, rather than on the arm of it. His arm went around the back of it, essentially around her.

"Each ruler has their own way to rule their kingdom, Sofia," her father remarked.

She started to reply, but the castle steward opened the doors, "You rang, your majesty?"

"We're working up a bit of an appetite," her father said. "Could you bring us some lunch?"

"Chef Andre has some roasted quails," the steward offered. "I could arrange sandwiches?"

"That sounds fantastic," her father said, looking over at Victor. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Her fiancé nodded and before the steward turned to leave he noticed her,"Princess Sofia, I had no idea you were in here. Will you be joining your mother at the table for lunch?"

"I'm hoping," Victor started, "That she will remain in here with us."

"Oh?" The steward looked to her, adjusting his glasses. She gave him a smile and nodded, "Alright then, I will bring your lunch to you in here." He came back after a short stint away with their lunch, only pausing to clear them an appropriate surface to eat on.

They ate and continued to talk about what would be required for a legitimate business to be run from the site at their kingdoms' border. The idea of a full on village seemed to make Victor weary for some reason she couldn't place. After she finished her lunch, she decided to broach it. "Is it because of the dragons?"

"Yes and no," he answered after setting down the remains of his sandwich, something he had devoured as if he was ravenous with hunger. "As you saw when you were giving us a water source there are dragons that are in alliance with my kingdom. They work with us and are aware that humans, past the border, are off limits. There are a few that tend to get off course and can be … troublesome," he frowned. "But there are also some creatures that I have no control over. Large spiders and thunder lizards for example. They are wild and really, really hard to reason with."

"Thunder lizards?" She asked her curiosity quirked.

"Larger than bulls and almost as angry," he went on to describe them. "They also have this inconvenient ability to harness lightning that I haven't been able to understand, yet."

"We've never seen them or heard of them for that matter," she said, after giving her father a glance. He only shrugged at her. "Do you think they could be a problem? Are the spiders so large they would be a problem?"

"I've seen one the size of a horse," he shuddered as if the memory of it bothered him. "I don't know that they would be attracted to a settlement. There are settlements in and around the kingdom and they only occasionally tussle with the beasts. The climates between our kingdoms are vastly different. I don't think it would be an issue too much, however, I would prefer to be on the safer side of things." She hummed in understanding. "Oh," he stood as if remembering something, "I did bring you a gift, my princess." He went to her father's desk and picked up a wrapped parcel from one of the chairs that sat before it. "Your expressed interest in Zarithrian when you saw him made me think you might have interest in this," he held it up and it was quite evident that it was a large book wrapped in parchment.

"You brought me a book?" She stood, moving to meet him before he could return to her.

"Is that what it takes to gain your favor, princess?" He looked curious as he handed her the wrapped book, "If that it what it takes to garner your affections I will be sure to have a library filled with books back in Nigrum waiting for you."

She started to pull the parchment from the book, smiling slightly, "I enjoy reading. You can learn a lot from books." She went back to the lounge, suddenly eager to see what he had brought her. She sat down and set the paper aside, looking at the title of the book with interest, "The biology of dragons?"

"It's not a published text, I suppose not something you could buy from a merchant. Something that I've been putting together over the last decade or so," he looked embarrassed for a moment, perhaps at the reminder of the differences in their ages. "But, I thought it might interest you."

She opened the cover and saw that the front page was very clean and clearly written, as if a publisher had put it together, "You wrote this?"

"I did tell you that I enjoyed science," he smiled at her. "It's a collection of observances that I've made as I was growing up."

"It's a very thoughtful gift," her father commented, he had sat back down behind his desk. He apparently had been watching the exchange with some interest and she suddenly felt exposed in front of him.

She had almost forgotten they had an audience, "It is. I actually can't wait to start reading it." She smiled at her fiancé, feeling genuine about how grateful she suddenly was. She noted a look of pleasure on his expression, "I've known a few dragons, or well... I've only really known one, but I've had the opportunity to meet a few. I've never really known a whole lot about them. And there's only been so much information on them." She looked back down at it, turning a page to see a table of contents. Looking at it, she found that the man she was due to marry was very meticulous about the things he did.

There was a chuckle that drew her attention back to him, he had his hands on his hips and he had come to stand beside her. "If I knew I would lose you to it, I would have waited to give it to you before I left. There was something that told me that you were not the type of woman that would enjoy material things. I think your thirst for knowledge has just made you more appealing to me," he tilted his head just slightly as he looked down at her. "Am I going to lose you to a book?"

"Only until I get finished reading it," it got a laugh out of both him and her father. She shook her head, "I'll try not to get buried into it. Did you really need my opinions on the plans?"

"I'm sure we can figure things out on our own," her father said.

"You've actually given us very important thoughts to consider," her fiancé admitted. "If you want to bury yourself in the book feel free." He leaned down to kiss her, it was light and chaste because her father had a keen eye on them. "I have other gifts for you to consider, I hope after I return back to my kingdom you will give me some ideas as to what will have you looking at me like that again."

"I'm hardly complicated," she said, casting a weary eye at her father. She felt embarrassed that he had seen the display of affection. But, at least Victor had restrained himself.

He picked up the scrolls and went back to her father's desk, "Amuse yourself, princess, your father and I will get back to work."

She did that. She eyed the different titles for each section of the book with great interest and wondered how he had found out all the information. The chapters seemed to be set up in alphabetical order and it was easy to pursue. Age, she was sure having a conversation with the dragons could answer any of his questions. Seeing chapters on reproduction and sex made heat flood to her cheeks. How would he find out about that? Shaking her head she decided to dive right into the first chapter. She was pleased to see diagrams drawn delicately in detail.

Description and pictures of eggs, referred to as clutches, and how they were cared for. A picture of a darling looking whelp. It made her think of Crackle. While she hadn't seen the plucky little dragon in months, her missing Clover had caused her to visit less, she still cared for her. She wasn't sure how she would classify her. Was she still a whelp? She found a picture that looked similar to the dragon that she had seen before, Zarithrian. When ages were mentioned she noticed that the creatures had a tendency to live long. Centuries. Sometimes as long as a millennium.

So far, the mention of the oldest were referred to as aspects, which were the leader of each flight. The first chapter blended into another chapter classifying breeds. This chapter seemed to be longer and had a broader subject. Proto drakes were a more primitive cousin of the common dragon. They had large wings and small arms, they often spoke brokenly and didn't have some of the abilities that their educated cousins did.

That gave her pause. Dragons had special abilities? She turned a page and began to start the subsection about what was referred to as the common dragon. A throat was cleared and she looked up, seeing the bemused look on her father's face. "Sofia," he waved a hand towards the door, "It's time for dinner."

"Oh," she sat up, having sank down on the lounge. "I'm sorry, I got distracted."

"I will be sure to offer you more books," Victor said as he came to fetch the pieces of his armor. "Though it will be sparingly, I do enjoy your company." He paused as he struggled to balance his armor then he offered her a hand up, "You did seem to completely fall into the book. I suppose I should be flattered."

She took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet, "I'm not always like this, just on subjects I find interesting." She held the book close, using her finger to keep her place, "You also have to know that you wrote will only have me asking you a million questions."

"In a few months I will have all the time in the world for your questions. However, I need to go change into something more appropriate for dinner," he hadn't released her hand yet and he brought it to his mouth to brush a kiss against it. "I will see you at the table," he released her hand and went to the door, nodding to her father and exiting the room.

She kept the book close, going to her father's table to steal a clean quill. She slid it into her book and then hugged it close as she went to meet him at the door, "Sorry I got distracted."

"I saw you reading," her father put his hand on the small of her back, directing her out of the room and down the hall. "I, also, saw how Victor couldn't remain focused. Every time I looked up he was looking at you, reading that book." He chuckled lightly as they walked down the hall, "I found myself wondering if I looked at your mother like that, or if I still do for that matter."

She looked at him curiously, "How was he looking at me?" She had seen some of the looks that he had given her. They were usually in a manner that she didn't think she would want her father to see.

"He was looking as if he would much rather be with you than dealing with plans," there was something wistful about his expression. "When your mother and I first married I often found myself hiding from Baileywick and all my duties just so that I could spend time with her."

She smiled at the thought and nudged his side with her elbow, "Maybe you should start doing that again."

He gave a little laugh, "Maybe I should, that is if I survive your wedding." They reached the dining room doors and he opened them, seeing her mother and siblings already at the table. "I think I will," he smiled and she saw that his gaze was locked on her mother.

She stood, though she didn't seem to reflect the same adoration she felt from her father. She wasn't happy about their visitor and it was apparent. Though, Sofia couldn't fathom why. That was until she noticed her setting across the table from her family and beside the place setting for Victor. That was why her mother was unhappy. She went to her setting and looked at her mother, trying to give her a brave face. She set the book in the chair besides her, safe and out of the way.

Her father sat and then the rest of them as well. Dinner wasn't served until their guest arrived. He hurried in, struggling with a cufflink. Everyone started to rise, out of respect but he made a gruff noise, "Thank you, but really." He came and sat beside her, "I can't ever seem to get these things on my own." At his complaint, she reached over and fastened it for him. She caught a look from him, it wasn't flirtatious as some of the other looks she had caught from him. It had a warm affection to it. "Thank you," he murmured to her, it was quiet as if he only wanted her to hear.

She smiled weakly at him then looked to meet the gazes of her family. Her father looked slightly smug, similar to how he had looked before in his study when he commented on how Victor would look at her. Her mother seemed to see the same thing her father did, there was something akin to relief on her face. Her siblings reactions were different and she cleared her throat, trying to banish the discomfort she felt.

The steward saved her by directing dinner before her and any discomfort she felt was quickly masked by the desire to eat. Dinner went by smoothly, even with Amber and James still seemingly at odds with one another. It wasn't the same without James pushing conversation to talk about things that entertained him. Or things that may impress the prince next to her, because though he was a prince Victor had age on her brother and there was something about impressing someone that was older. But, there was none of that. Her siblings were quiet.

Her father and her fiancé seemed to drive the majority of the conversation, which was business related. She ate her dinner and politely listened as it appeared her mother did. She had heard the matters that they spoke on. "When will you be leaving?" She heard her mother ask.

Victor put a hand on hers, his thumb tracing along the back of it. "I will be leaving in the morning, I can't say that we really came to any sort of agreement other than the land that we are planning to build on needs to be better cleared," she looked at him curiously. He gave her another smile, "Of course that means I will need to make another visit to finalize the details with King Roland. I hopefully will be able spend a bit more time next visit than just a day."

"Your wedding is fast approaching," her mother pointed out. "Are you satisfied with the amount of time you've had to get to know my daughter? You are intending to maintain a relationship with her, right?"

"I understand what you're implying Queen Miranda," he said carefully. "Ideally, I would have liked to get to know your daughter better. I find, however, the more opportunities I have to speak with her are very educational. My views of her are ever evolving. She and I were exchanging letters before and I hope she will continue to write to me. She is quite intelligent and the questions she has asked me have most definitely kept me on my toes."

"I lost count the number of times she's come into my office to send off a letter to him over the past week," her father complained. "I'm surprised I get any work done, it seems like an hour or so after she sends off her letter I am passing on a letter to her from him." Her father looked at her mother, "There's nothing wrong with a short courtship." He sighed lightly, "I've told you how smitten he appears to be with her. If you would just believe me."

She grimaced at the direction the conversation was going, "If there is anyway that I can put your worries at ease, please, I beg you. Tell me." She looked at Victor again, he looked embarrassed. "I assure you, I mean her no harm."

"I know," her mother said with a sigh. "But you won't truly understand my fears until you have children of your own. This is a piece of me that you are taking away."

"I will cherish her like the treasure she is," he said lowly. "I will allow no harm to come to her."

"That's romantic," her sister commented. "But, I think you really need to let it go, mother. He hasn't really given us any reason to be suspicious of him." She paused to take a sip of her wine and looked ahead as if she wasn't at all concerned about the tone of her voice. "Sofia is smart and she's completely capable of handling things herself."

"She's right," James echoed begrudgingly. He sat down his fork and looked down at his plate with a bit of a pout. "May I be excused?"

"I really hope whatever has you two like this that you get over it," their father said with blatant frustration. "I've had enough of this tension at the dinner table." He waved his hand, "Go ahead. But, if I have to sit through this one more night I promise that neither of you will enjoy the consequences." He stood, apparently done, "You are both adults and it's time that you both start acting like it."

"Yes, father," the both said, looking thoroughly chastised. Though, she had a feeling that James would likely harbor resentment towards his twin for a while.

"I am going to retire to my study, in the event you are need of me," he looked to her and Victor with a bit of a grimace. "Victor when you are finished if you care to pick up on our conversation I will definitely be enjoying some of the brandy you brought."

"I will join you in a moment," he said, turning to look at her. "I don't imagine you will be joining us?"

"Someone gave me a book that I want to get back to," she gave him a smile.

"He gave you a book?" Her sister sounded repulsed, "Prince Victor your supposed to shower a girl with diamonds. Not books."

"I will shower her with diamonds, Princess Amber. Don't you fret," he took the hand he had been holding and pressed a kiss to it. "You will see me off in the morning, then?"

She nodded and he stood, giving her mother and siblings a bow. She watched him leave, feeling a little flutter in her stomach. She wondered if he would visit her later. James rose as well and grumbled a 'Good night' to all of them. She turned to see her brother go and felt an entirely different feeling twist up her heart. She felt bad for him, but she wasn't sure how to help him.

"Well," her sister commented not long after their brother had left. "I suppose he and I will have to have a talk."

"Sooner rather than later," their mother commented. "I wish I knew why he looked so down trodden. You're not responsible for that, are you, Amber?"

"He has no one to blame, but himself, mother," she said coolly.

She grimaced and stood, "I'm going to go to my room to read. I'll see you two in the morning." She paused to pick up the tome that had been gifted to her.

"Don't stay up too late," her mother chided, as if she already knew she was likely to. Though, what her mother wasn't aware of was why she was likely to stay up late.

She felt giddy, as if she looked forward to him sneaking into her room. Since the first time he had touched her intimately, she found herself suffering from a certain type of hunger she couldn't explain. It intensified when she was close to her sorcerer, but she couldn't make herself try to seduce him not with how her current situation was. But, she had found herself thinking of him when she tried to replicate the feelings that Victor had created in her his last visit. She never could get the strength to it that he had managed. The hunger clung to the pit of her belly unsatisfied.

She made it to her room and closed the doors, she put the book on her bed and prepared herself for bed. She slipped her night dress on and snuggled down onto her bed, propping the book up on her knees as she continued where she had left off. She went on to learn that the common dragon had five different breeds, or flights. Each had a special task assigned to them, it gifted them special abilities over the world.

The red flight are said to be the protectors of life, while their fire may burn and destroy; life would soon spring forth from the chard earth, leaving grass and flowers in its wake. The blue flight had dominion over the arcane itself, magic. They regulated ley lines around the world and saw to the care of them.

She paused thinking of little Crackle again. She was blue. Did that make her a member of the blue dragon flight? She remembered when she saved Enchancia from the Forever Frost. She would have to pay her friend a visit to ask. She wondered if Victor would be able to enlighten her. More questions, she just kept coming up with more questions the more she read.

The green dragon flight protected dreams. The thought made her hesitate, what could endanger dreams? More questions. The bronze dragon flight were watchers of time, though she was sure it didn't refer to a bunch of bronze colored dragons keeping an eye on a clock. The black dragon flight had dominion over the earth, they shaped the world to help keep the lesser races from warring over land.

"Lesser races?" Her brows drew together at the words.

The door slid open, as if someone had heard her, and she looked up to see her fiancé closing the door behind him. She shot a look at the clock on her wall and noted it wasn't long past nine. There was a chance that the rest of the castle inhabitants would still be up. She put the borrowed quill back into her book to save her place and sat up, setting it aside. "You're earlier than I expected."

"But you expected me?" He started to cross the room, he had changed into a light linen shirt and loose trousers. There was a certain smugness to him at the idea of her waiting on him.

She stood and went to the door, taking the time to latch it closed then secured them closed at the top. Just to be sure that if someone was going to pay her a visit that they would be forced to knock. When she turned back to him he was watching her speculatively, "Expecting me and locking the door?"

She hesitated, unsure as to where to start. She wanted him, she had decided that. But, she wasn't sure how to or where to start. He didn't appear ready to help her, either. He just watched her with a raised eyebrow. "Amber has a tendency to walk in without knocking," she commented uneasily. "So, since it's not really late I thought it would be a good idea to lock it."

"Ah, yes," he stepped closer to her. "You don't want to get caught doing something you shouldn't, do you?"

She took a breath, suddenly overwhelmed by the smokey smell of him, "We could both get in trouble. You remember dad's conditions." Swallowing hard, she stepped towards him, "I don't know what would happen if you were caught in my room."

"I could go," his voice was pitched low, "If you would prefer." He had closed the distance between them and she wanted it touch him, "But, is that what you want?"

"No," she leaned against him and looked up. "It's not." He wrapped an arm around her hips and, after swallowing to try to calm the butterflies in her stomach, she leaned up to kiss him. He readily returned the kiss, but it's not hungry as she would expect from him like he has kissed her before. He kissed her tenderly, one hand coiling through her hair. He pulled her so that she was flush against him and she could feel just how he wanted her. The kiss held emotions in it.

She held onto his upper arms, following his lead as he kissed her. He pulled back to allow her a breath, though that was all he allowed her, he was quick to return to her mouth. His kisses began to turn hungry and his hands began to wander. One cupped her rump briefly before dropping down grab her thigh and hitch up her knee over his hip. He pressed her back against her bedroom doors.

He forced his way between her thighs and ground against her, she pulled away from his mouth to gasp. He rubbed against her and she arched, pressing back against the door unconsciously because it felt so good. His mouth was on her neck and his teeth scrapped against her skin and she whimpered until he soothed the mark with his tongue. He held her seemingly effortlessly as he thrust against her, one of his hands had drifted to her breasts and he teased one until the nipple stiffened. The usually silky material of her night dress bothered her and she was ready to be rid of it.

His mouth went to her ear and he growled lowly into it, "I could have you, right here against the door." His hips ground into hard hers and she made a little noise, "If you would just let me." He moved hefted her leg up, his arm curling under her knee, and then managed the other one in the same manner so that he supported her weight between himself and the door. It spread her further apart and he rubbed against her, a moan tore from her. "Please," he pleaded in her ear.

She wanted it, she wanted to give in. It felt so good as he was rubbing against her now, surely if she gave in it would feel better. But, some rational bit of her hung on. She shuddered and tried to grasp on to the straws of her flailing control. "Have to wait," she managed out, despite the fact that she found herself pressing back against him in earnest. She felt fraying edges of completion just within reach.

He cursed and trembled against her and she thought for a moment that he might have finished, he dropped her legs. He remained leaning heavily against her as he seemed to struggle with something. She whimpered and her thighs trembled and twitched, she was throbbing she was so close. But he had stopped.

His head was buried against her shoulder and he seemed to be reeling in his own control, because he would occasionally shudder. He released a breath and steadied himself, pulling away. "If we must wait then," he sighed and stepped away from her.

She had a sudden flash, "Are you going to leave now?" The ache between her thighs suddenly became intense and she worried that he might.

He chuckled and took her hand, pressing it against his obvious erection. She could feel him throbbing, too, "That might be too much for me to handle on my own. I will scratch your itch if you scratch mine. Does that sound fair?"

She nodded, because it was reasonable. He led her to her bed and he paused to pull his shirt up and over his head, affording her a view of the fine lines of his abs. She reached out to touch him, as if compelled and drew her fingers along the ridges of his muscles. He closed the distance between them, allowing her to get her fill of touching him. "Let us lay down, shall we?"

She sat on her bed and carefully shifting backwards and towards the head of her bed. He followed her, looking like a predator ready to eat her. It send a thrill through her, when she rested back against her pillows he caught her mouth. He kissed her like he did when he pressed her against her door. It burned a fire in her and she responded. He hovered over her though, teasing her with the feel of his body against hers.

When he finally pressed his body to hers the weight was welcomed. They kissed, her hands mapping out his shoulders, one going to tangle in his hair. She wasn't sure when the craving started, but she craved this. There was something to the weight of a man on her that she felt enjoyable. He trailed back down to her neck, one of his hands tugging up the hem of her night dress.

"Wait," she managed, a circle of questions dancing in her thoughts while she still had them.

He groaned and shifted to lay against her side, "Teasing me now, are you?"

"No," she turned on her side to face him. "I have questions and I want to ask them before you distract me too much."

"Ask, however, my answers will come at a cost," he smiled at her. He drew her closer, his hand cupping her rump and toying with her exposed bloomers. "That fair?"

She nodded uneasily, knowing that he was likely to derail her thoughts with what he had in mind. "You told me you had many lovers, right?"

He hummed and went straight to garnering his reward, he began his assault on her neck again. He used teeth and tongue and she nearly lost her nerve to ask her next question. She figured if anyone were to shine light on the situation between her siblings, it might be him. "Have you been with a man?"

He froze for a moment, as if he were processing what she had asked. Then he pulled away to get a good look at her face, "I'm sorry. What?"

She nearly lost her nerve, he didn't look offended or angry. As far as she could tell, "Have you been with a man before?"

He pursed his lips as he looked at her, both of his eyebrows nearly touching his hair line. "Is there a reason behind this question?"

"It's a secret," she offered with a grimace.

He looked at her with interest, "Do you ask because you would like to try in engaging in some experiments with a woman? If that's the case I am not at all against the idea and could only encourage it, you are young you should be entitled to learn what it is you like." He had a smirk on his face and she wasn't sure if he was serious or if he was toying with her. When he noticed her frown he snorted and shifted to rest on his back, pulling her against his side. "I will tell you, however I expect you to give me the reason behind the question." He scratched lightly at the hair on his jaw, watching her suspiciously. "I have been with men before. When I first discovered sex and its many pleasures I was indiscriminate as to who I would seek it from. Honestly, when I was about your age," he grimaced at the phrase. "I would literally do anything to anyone that would hold still long enough. Now, your reason for asking?"

She propped herself up on her elbow looking down at him and choosing to ignore s question. "But, even after being with men, you're not gay?"

"Just because someone decides to lay with someone of the same sex doesn't make them gay, but that doesn't mean everyone that lays with someone of the same sex isn't gay. That's a personal question you should ask the person that put the thought in your head," he cupped her cheek, stroking it lightly. "If I were only attracted to men, I wouldn't be right here trying to worm my way into your bloomers."

"But, you are still attracted to them?"

"Are you worried about fidelity? Do you think I will take lovers behind your back simply because of something I have done in the past?"

She thought for a moment, leaning against him as she considered it. She loved another, though she couldn't bring herself to start a relationship with him and then continue a relationship with the man she leaned against, "Should I be?"

He hummed lightly as he eyed her, he raised an eyebrow at her. "I offer you myself in exchange of yourself. I have laid my claim on you, if you wish lay your claim upon me I encourage it."

She thought back to the mark he had put on her thigh and he was encouraging her to do the same to himself. She looked down at his collar and considered it, there was a thrill that went through her at the thought. She swallowed hard and decided that honesty was probably best, "Amber walked in on James having a moment with her fiancé. That's why they are at odds with one another."

"And that's what brought the questions?" He looked at her curiously.

"Sort of," she splayed her fingers along his skin.

"But, look at you," he released her face and he started to toy with her hair. "Do you want to stake your claim upon me?" She met his gaze again, she felt the desire to do as he bid her, "Do it." His voice beckoned.

She gave in, as she seemed to do a lot with him. She leaned down to kiss his collar, she scraped her teeth against the line of the bone. Her tongue tasted him and she heard him take a breath. It encouraged her and she leaned up, tracing the column of his neck. She went to his shoulder and dug her teeth in. She didn't get the reaction from him as she had given him when he had bitten her. He growled, sounding more beast than man, and wrapped his arms about her. "Harder," he hissed in her ear.

She dug her teeth in harder, tasting the tang of his blood. He moaned and suddenly he had her shifted so she was astride his hips and she could feel him throb through his trousers. "Don't let go," he hissed in her ear, pressing her firmly against his chest. His hips thrust upwards against her and she could do nothing but hold on as he growled against her ear. She inadvertently dug in harder and she felt him stiffen and tremble. The thrusts against her were suddenly sharp and out of rhythm. He released a long groan and she felt a dampness spread between them.

She let go of his shoulder and he seemed to whimper at the loss, though he still clung to her hard. There was blood smeared on his shoulder and she brought a hand to her mouth and found it there, too. She sat upward, suddenly afraid that she had hurt him. "You're bleeding," she breathed.

He didn't give her a chance to voice further worry. He caught her mouth and kissed her with a passion he hadn't shown her before. He had sat up and kept her against him as he kissed her. Whether he meant to distract her or not she was unsure, but she felt the concern for what she had done to him force her away. "I bit you too hard," she protested as he tried to kiss her again.

"No," he soothed as he held her. His mouth worked along her cheek and then down her jaw. "I wanted it," he breathed and when she took stock of it, the dampness became more apparent. He had orgasmed as she been biting him. "That was intense," he breathed as he seemed to come back to himself. He purred against her throat, "I can only imagine how it would have felt had I been in you."

"You're bleeding," she repeated, trying to pull back so she could see the mark she had left, "We need to take care of this."

"Leave it," he immediately rolled them so he was now on top of her. "I should return the favor, hm?"

"But," she started and he silenced her with a kiss. He tugged her night dress upward and immediately started his way down, kissing her neck and tracing it south. He paused, only just long enough to skim over her night dress and move onto her exposed breasts. He distracted her by capturing one peak in his mouth and rolling his tongue over it. Her hands buried into his hair and she gasp, arching upward as he insighted so many feelings in her.

Any protests she had further were gone, burned away in the fire he created. He went from one breast to the other, paying equal homage to it before he started down further. He started tugging down her bloomers as he trailed down her stomach. He paused to scrape his teeth against her hip, he pulled her bloomers down her legs then off of her and flung them away. Then he was between her thighs, nuzzling past her lips and tonguing immediately at her core.

Her hips rolled against his questing tongue and mouth. She moaned when he thrust his fingers into her and forced her back into the feelings that threatened to overwhelm her when he was thrusting against her before. He was pushing her to the brink, much as she had done to him without her knowledge. She cried out, rolling her hips frantically as he seemed to drive her closer more quickly. She shattered, arching up off the bed as it hit her and swept her away.

He kissed her lower lips, pulling his fingers from her. He spread kisses outward, stopping at her thighs. Then stopping all together. "You heal quickly," he said gruffly. He kissed the place he had bitten her and then she felt the scrape of his teeth.

"Don't," she said sharply, sitting up to stop him. "Don't bite me."

He looked up at her, his brows drawn together. "You just bit me," he pointed out.

"You've already staked your claim on me," she pointed out. "Do you really need to do it again?"

He shifted upwards onto his knees and he grasped her face between her hands. "If the mark is there or not it doesn't banish the fact that I put it there," he said, his tone serious. "You are still mine."

"Someone saw it and they started asking questions," she started to point out, feeling the need to explain for reasons she didn't know. "If you can't trust that I will be faithful how is leaving bite marks on me going to do anything but create trouble?"

"You are mine," his eyes locked on hers and she couldn't look away. "You can plan your wedding and all the little things that you do. But I have already claimed you, you are mine." He seemed to sense something in her because he pulled away from her, perhaps able to tell how afraid she had become. "You have claimed me as yours," he said a little less harshly. "I will wait for your traditions to truly have you. As we agreed upon." He kissed her forehead and seemed to struggle with soothing her fears, "Forgive me. I hadn't realized how much I would grow attached to you."

She released a breath, looking down at the angry mark on his shoulder. "You aren't going to hurt me? You are going to go without biting me again?"

"Our traditions are different," he released her and sat back. "I will not mar your beautiful skin again," he reached down to stroke the skin on her thigh, making her shiver. "You aren't afraid of me now, are you?"

She grimaced and looked away from him, "You're doing things to me that I don't understand."

He leaned forward, kissing her forehead again. "Forgive me," he cupped her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. "Driven by instinct is my excuse, I should have explained it to you when I did it to you. I was so overcome with want for you that I didn't think." He frowned and looked genuinely remorseful, "Excuses is all I have for you. All I can do is beg for your forgiveness, will you forgive me?"

She touched the mark she put on his shoulder, feeling him twitch and wondering at his reaction. "I forgive you," she said evenly. "But, maybe you should ask first before you do something like that again."

His lips twitched, "I won't bite you again unless you ask me to."

"Why would I ask you to?"

He looked down to his lap then back at her, "You made a sodden mess of me. I have not came so hard without the assistance of real intercourse in a while." There was something flirtatious that entered his voice, "Are you against the idea of biting me more often?"

"Somehow I get the feeling that you're not joking," she ventured carefully.

"Only a little," he shifted then stretched out to onto her bed, curling slightly around her as if he were a cat. "Will you lay down with me?"

"Do you want more...?" She struggled to put words to it, but she laid down beside him. While she wasn't entirely against the idea if he wanted to continue their activities, she could feel the force of it weighing on her.

"No," he chuckled as he pulled her close. "I merely want to enjoy your presence. Cuddle if you will." He curled his arms around her and seemed content in just holding her close. "Did you have anymore questions you wanted to ask?"

She considered it for a moment taking in his warmth and fighting off a yawn. "Not that I can think of at the moment," she looked up at him and saw something, perhaps what her father saw, shining back at her. "I was distracted by someone."

"I would apologize for that," he chuckled and she was lulled by the rumble of his chest. "But, I quite enjoyed distracting you."

At some point, things had grown quiet. It became apparent, with the deep even breathes that he was taking that he had fallen asleep. She had the fleeting thought that she should wake him and send him back to his room. But, he was warm and the sounds he made had an affect on her she couldn't describe.

It wasn't long before she drifted off into oblivion.

* * *

She was comfortable. So, when the light filtered in and hit her eyelids she turned away. The arm around her tightened and she felt the sharpness of his hip against her lower stomach. She buried her nose against his chest and he murmured in his sleep. After a moment her eyes fluttered opened and she gazed at the expanse of bronze skin that took up the majority of her view. Confused, she looked up to see Victor very much asleep.

His expression was relaxed and his eyes shifted minutely beneath his eyelids. The hand on her hip twitched then tightened, stroking her skin. He was dreaming, of what she couldn't tell.

But, though this was likely to create issues for her if she allowed him to sleep in too much, it was pleasant being pressed against him. She slept so well despite the feeling that there was something that was wrong with this man. She needed to wake him up.

She reached a hand up and cupped his cheek, stroking her fingers against it before going on to brush his hair from his face. He hummed and turned onto his side facing her, then proceeded to curl around her. The change in his position brought their faces closer together. She stroked his face and hair, almost as if she was petting him. She drug her fingers through his beard and he tilted his head to kiss her wrist.

"Are you awake?" She asked carefully.

He hummed and his eyes fluttered open, this close she was able to see the deep crimson color of them. The color of them was odd. It didn't give her reason to stop stroking his hair and face, "Am I awake?" He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against hers, rumbling lowly in his chest. It was as if he were purring. How did he manage that? "It feels like I'm dreaming."

"Nope," she offered, trying to not enjoy the feel of him. "It's morning."

His eyes suddenly snapped open and widened. He sat up, taking in the fact that he wasn't in fact in the guest room where he belonged. "I fell asleep," he observed then, seemingly reluctantly, extracted his arm from around her and slid from the bed. He looked to the clock on her wall and cursed rather colorfully, "It's nearly nine!"

She sat up, "What time were you supposed to leave this morning?"

He started moving quickly, looking for his shirt, "At seven." He seemed at a loss for the garment and another string of curses escaped him, "I will have to go without it." He looked at her with a somewhat pained expression, "I must part with you. Continue writing me?"

"Of course," she smiled at him and stood, "But I will see you out front. You better go dress, so I can dress."

He gave her a nod and went to her door, pausing to unlatch it and pull down the bolts that secured the door closed. He slid it open just a crack and stuck his head out the door, peering into the hallway to ensure it was clear. Once he was satisfied he slipped out and closed the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, she went to her closet and pulled her night dress off. She got a fresh pair of bloomers on and managed into a light corset herself. She found one of her lighter, less complicated dresses and pulled it on.

She paused to clean her face and tame her hair, as well as give her teeth a good brushing. Once she was satisfied, she stepped into her shoes and rushed out her door. She didn't bother heading to the dining room, because she knew he was likely dressing still if he was putting his armor back on. She made her way to the front steps and saw her mother and father already there waiting.

"Sofia," her father greeted her. "Victor's running a bit late it seems. I think Baileywick said he slept in."

Victor's carriage was already waiting and apparently packed. There was one of his men milling about the horses, eyeing them curiously but maintaining a respectful distance. "Did you two stay up late talking business?"

"No, he retired early if I remember correctly," her father cleared his throat. It was an indication that he probably had drank a little too much the night before. "I suppose he might have enjoyed his brandy a bit too much. That might be why he's overslept," he chuckled.

"That's exactly what it was," her fiancé answered as he walked down the steps to meet them. He was in his armor that glowed menacingly, though he managed to feign a pained look out in the sunlight so that anyone looking would assume him hungover. "I over indulged myself last night," he clasped hands with her father. "You are a fine drinking partner, my friend so it was hard to resist."

Her father laughed heartily, "I could say the same about you. Though, I make sure my sorcerer has a stock of potions to cure any sort of headache I might get the morning after." He clapped his shoulder, "When do you think you will be in Enchancia again?"

"It will have to be soon," he answered as he considered it. "And for a longer period of time, I don't want to neglect my princess any more than I already have. I think I can get another acre of land cleared, perhaps two would be the best bet, in two weeks. Maybe three if the weather isn't permitting. I will definitely let you know."

"Good, good, you push it too much farther back and we won't see you again until the wedding," her father remarked releasing him.

"It was good to see you again," her mother offered him a curtsy. "Hopefully you will be able to devote more time to spend with Sofia."

"That's my intentions, Queen Miranda," he gave her mother a deep bow in return before turning his attention to her. "Trust me, it is something that is a high priority." He came to stand before her, standing closer to her than he had her mother or father. "My princess, I hope to read a letter full of questions from you soon."

"I still need to finish the book you've given me," she smiled at him. "But, I will definitely keep writing you. You don't have to worry about that."

"You will have to forgive me," his voice lowered slightly. "I am going to be forward with you," he cupped her cheeks in his hands and gave her a smirk before he closed the distance and kissed her. He dropped a hand around her waist and held her close, seeming to enjoy the closeness. A throat cleared, likely her father, and he pulled away from her. She flushed, remembering the night before. "Until I see you again, I suppose that will have to tide me over," he released her and turned to her parents.

Her mother smiled, even though she felt flustered. "Have a safe journey."

The sentiment was repeated and he went to his carriage, afforded them a final wave before he boarded it and closed the door. She released a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding. She watched as the horses took off and the carriage rose into the sky. She didn't wait for her parents to question his forwardness or comment on the inappropriate way he had kissed her. His night shirt was still in her room and she needed to find it before a maid did. "Sorry about that," she turned to them. "I'll see you guys at lunch though, I'm going to get back to that book he gave me." A good excuse for an escape, she quickly turned to go back inside and tear through her room for his lost shirt.


	10. Chapter 10

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story is rated M for mature, meaning there is mature content ahead. Really if you got this far and skipped all the sexy scenes I have to applaud you. There's none in this chapter.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

So, in the event there is confusion as to who a certain someone is. Or what I should say. I am throwing you a bone.

* * *

After Victor's short visit and nearly disastrous exit, she had managed to find his forgotten shirt. It had been in the tangle of sheets on her bed. She had even found it easily. It left her wondering if he had left it there on purpose. She wasn't entirely sure what her father would do if he knew of their experiments. She was sure he wouldn't break the engagement, not with so much work already done. Asking was out of the question, or at least not asking her father. Amber, on the other hand, might know.

Currently, they were at the tailor with her friends Ruby and Jade. Jade was currently on a pedestal being measured. She only had on a light slip, having refused to strip all the way down. She understood, there was something uncomfortable about it. As if being put on display. They worked around it.

"Pst," her sister called to her. "Sofia," she waved her over with her fan as the girl took her friend's measurements. "Come look at this."

Curious, she went to her sister's side to see what she wanted. Then she saw it. Her wedding dress was on a sewing dummy and it looked gorgeous. The sketch that had been made of it before didn't seem to do it any justice. The tailor had done as she promised and made the bodice more modest, as far as she could tell on the dummy. Lace had been added in as a means to cover the low scooping neckline. Lace flowers were at the hips and the boning of the sewn in corset was well hidden by piping.

It left her speechless. She heard her sister chuckle, "Oh, Madam Collette, she loves it."

The tailor came to stand by her side, "It is not entirely finished, there are some things that I want to add to it. But you see how the basic structure of it and how it will look over all. If you love it now, when you see it done it will bring tears to your eyes!" She chuckled to herself, "The train is finished, of course, but I will wait until the day of the event to attach it. After we have gotten it to the castle. That way we won't have to worry about anything unfortunate happening. This is a masterpiece!"

"Oh it definitely is," Amber agreed. "I know you will out do yourself when my wedding rolls around."

"But, of course," the tailor smiled. "Would you like to see your gown, Princess Amber. I have yours completed and I will have your friends' gowns done within the weeks we have left."

She directed them into a work room, it contained multiple bolts of different colored fabric and there was several dummies standing around with incomplete gowns hanging on them. The tailor waved at one that looked as if it belonged on a queen more so than in a wedding.

The bodice of Amber's dress was made up of ruffles and pearls that went up and over the shoulders, though it really didn't provide sleeves. Bows were at the hips and ruffles flowed down from them. It was a light shade of lavender and she could see the details that clearly pointed out that Amber had been the one that designed the dress. "It's lovely," she supplied.

"Ruby's and Jade's will look similar. I suppose not all the gold will be in their gowns," her sister offered. "We need to make them just a little different."

"They will look lovely in them," she nodded.

As if they heard their names, her two friends ventured into the room. "Is that what our gowns are going to look like?" Jade asked, her eyes wide. She was still struggling into her dress and she didn't seem to be able to tie the ribbon in the back. She went to her and tied it neatly, offering her friend a smile.

"It's gorgeous," Ruby agreed, her eyes also as big as saucers.

"Our gowns will all be a little different, with a little touch to distinguish each of us. You see the gold in mine? I think we could fit in a little red and green for yours," her sister came to stand between her two friends. "We will be absolutely beautiful in these gowns. Any available men there will be smitten as soon as they see us."

"Aren't you engaged?" Jade reminded.

"I can still break hearts," Amber winked at her. "Are you two available to return to the castle with us? We could have lunch. And perhaps tea. I'm sure Daddy wouldn't mind you two staying for dinner either."

"Are you going to ask us to stay the night, too?" Ruby asked with a snicker.

"I don't see why not," her sister replied haughtily. "It has been a long time since we've had a party like that. You're never too old for fun with your girlfriends."

"I could come to the castle for as long as dinner," Jade offered with a sigh. "I managed to get today freed up. But I'm sure my dad would skin me up if I didn't show up home tonight."

"Yea," Ruby looked a little upset, too, "I've got to open up the shop in the morning."

"Well, princesses," the tailor interrupted their conversation. "I have both of their measurements. If you wish to continue to stay and contemplate the dresses feel free to. I have a lot of work that I must get to."

"Let's get back to the castle," Amber said. "We are in need of some much needed girl time," with that she turned to exit the tailor's workroom. "I assure you that this time we will not be interrupted and we will be able to properly enjoy each other's company."

They followed Amber out of the shop and to the carriage. The coachman opened the door for them, offering them a nod and tip of his hat. "What was the reason that you were summoned back to the castle for last time?" Ruby asked curiously. "Usually it's for something serious if your dad sends out a messenger all the way out here to get you."

"Her fiancé had come to town for a visit," Amber offered as she sat down. "It was a short visit. But, he wanted to spend time with her. I am almost jealous of how romantic it sounds."

She boarded the carriage and sat across from her sister, her back to the driver's seat. "I wouldn't call it romantic. I sat in dad's study and listened to them argue and complain over plans and what was needed to have a proper rest stop on a supply route."

Ruby sat next to her and Jade sat next to Amber. She had the attention of both girls. "Really? And we didn't get the chance to meet him then?" Jade's voice had a snide lit to it.

"He was only here for a day, he spent the night and got up the next morning and left," she shrugged. "I promise the next time he's in Enchancia you will know about it and you will get the opportunity to meet him."

"It was him that sent for you then?" Ruby asked and she nodded.

"There has to be more to it," her sister complained with a pout. "He gave you a gift, a book. Though I really wouldn't call that a gift. And then I heard that he was late leaving, that he woke up late. Daddy said it was because he indulged too much in the liquor he has been adding to Daddy's collection. But, I bet it was something else."

She frowned at her sister, gave the driver behind her a pointed look then shot her sister a glare. "What is she talking about?" Jade looked between the two, seeming to miss what she was trying to imply without words.

"We'll have lunch in the garden," Amber said with a smile. "And we can discuss the details then."

They rolled to a halt just outside the main door of the castle and disembarked. When they came across the castle steward her sister informed him that they were going to be taking lunch in the garden's gazebo and that's where they would be. They ventured out into the garden and her sister finally gave her a sharp elbow to her side as they came to the gazebo, "Well, Sofia. We are away from any prying ears. Do tell us what caused your fiancé to sleep in when he was due to leave."

She flushed and she could feel her friends' eyes on her as she sat down on the bench of the gazebo. "He had fallen asleep in my room," she answered honestly.

Ruby gasped and Jade looked suspicious, as if she hadn't figured out just what he was doing, "Why would he be in your room?"

She swallowed hard, "Trying to seduce me."

"He slept in your room though," her sister prodded at her. "I don't about you two, but if he stayed there I would assume you should replace try with succeeded."

"We didn't have sex," she glowered at Amber.

"Oh? Then why did he sleep late?" Her sister met her glower with a look of her own. She was testing her, though she wasn't sure about what. "What was he in there for if it wasn't for... well... sex?"

She looked away from her sister, seeing the stricken looks of her friends. They were watching the exchange with flushed faces and baited breath. She looked away from them, "He was tired and he fell asleep. When I woke up he was still there."

"Tired?" Her sister asked, "What were you doing that made him tired?"

"Why are you pushing this? Can't you guess?" She shot back at her.

"Come now, no need to be coy," she had her fan in front of her face, hiding her expression now. "You tell us that he was trying to seduce you. That means he could have been doing anything to you." Her eyes narrowed, "Give us the dirty details."

"Why?" She looked to Ruby and Jade, neither of them seemed willing to stop her sister's interrogation. They both seemed equally flustered and mortified.

"I want to know," she said simply.

She sighed, finding the desire to use one of the words she had heard Victor using when he realized he had slept in. "We kissed and touched each other, intimately," her face felt hot and she couldn't believe that she was telling them these things. "He tried to seduce me, he got me to the point where I couldn't think straight and asked if he could have me."

"Ladies," the steward came out into view. Smiling pleasantly at them. He had a rolling cart that their lunch was on, "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." He came to a halt just outside the gazebo and started to set the little table in front of them with an array of things for them to eat for their lunch. There was a plate full of sandwiches of different varieties, "There is some cucumber sandwiches for you here, too, Princess Sofia." And then he also set a plate of cookies on the table. He gave them each a plate and a tea cup, pausing to fill each of their respective cups. He set a tea service on the table for them and bowed to them. "Is there anything else I can get for you, ladies?"

"I believe that will be all. Thank you, Baileywick," Amber answered politely.

The steward gave them a curious look, as if he just noticed the tension. He didn't question it, though the concern was evident on his aged features. "If you need anything all you need to do is call. I won't be far."

"Thank you, Baileywick," she echoed. Carefully plucking up the cucumber sandwiches that were especially made for her. She didn't feel like she had much an appetite now, after the force that her sister hit her with. As soon as it was once again, just the four of them, she cleared her throat. "Why do you want to know the 'dirty details?'"

"Well," she ate her respective sandwich slowly as she seemed to consider her answer. "Call it curiosity if you will. I've found out about my brother's extra curricular activities with Zandar, I had the unfortunate pleasure of witnessing it. And I heard about yours. I just wanted to know the details." She looked down at her tea, her cheeks flushed to show that she knew what she was asking for, "Call it an educational conversation."

"It doesn't sound like this is really an educational conversation," Ruby came up to her defense. "It sounds like you're purposely trying to force something out of her. Do you not believe her?"

"Oh, I believe her," she sipped her tea. "She's a terrible liar, though I'm sure you know that."

"It sounds like you might be jealous," Jade insinuated, "Though I don't know why you would be. She looks uncomfortable. I get the feeling that anything he's done to her hasn't really been her idea."

"I don't expect you two to understand," her sister said harshly. "You don't have the same obligations or restrictions. Are you both still virgins?"

"Amber, don't be insulting," she hissed at her.

"Yes," Ruby answered, her brows drawn down. "And I can tell you that I know Sofia is as well."

"Yes, not that it's really your concern," Jade retorted. "Why are you picking this fight? Would you rather have the man she's promised to?"

Amber scoffed, "I doubt he would want me. At dinner that night he did nothing but moon over her between conversations with Daddy."

"So you are jealous?" Jade asked.

"So what if I am?" She snapped back at her. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I'm sorry I made you feel uncomfortable, Sofia. I... I don't know."

She looked down at her lap, looking sighed, "I forgive you. I need you to understand that, while Victor is attractive and he may do things to me that... that I can't really explain or understand. I've not asked for the attention or affections he's given me." She suddenly didn't have the desire to eat anymore, remembering the taste of his blood in her mouth, "Remember the bite mark you saw?"

"Bite mark?" Both her friends echoed, looking concerned.

"I remember," her sister said uneasily. That was the reason she declined their change in fiancés when the dilemma between Zandar and James arose. While Amber may love her and would likely do anything for her, she was still arrogant and self centered. It would be rare that the other girl would sacrifice herself for another. The occasion against Princess Ivy notwithstanding.

"He told me it was him staking his claim on me," she said shakily, she didn't want to admit that she had done the same to him. "He left a mark on me saying that I was his."

"Primitive," she said, her brows drawn together. "But you told me this already."

She looked down at her hands, "He told me that was his kingdom's version of marriage."

"That's barbaric. But, that was just him claiming you!" She started to argue, real concern showing on her face. "Please don't tell me that he is from a kingdom where women are property."

She looked up at her, because she wasn't sure. "He wanted me to bite him in return, like I was claiming him. Staking my claim on him," she looked away from them as the realization hit her. She had done it, she had sunk her teeth into his shoulder and he had reacted as if he enjoyed the feeling. She bit her lip, she had accepted him in a manner that was based on his traditions. "He said he would respect the conditions that dad had set. That he would wait until after our wedding was done. But, as far as he was concerned I was his and he was mine."

"You bit him?" Jade asked, sounding amazed.

She winced and nodded, not able to look at her friends. Her cheeks felt hot and she was embarrassed about admitting it to someone else. "Did he force the issue?" Her sister asked, she seemed to think he would make her do a lot against her will. "Did he make you do it? If he's making you do things you don't want to do now, you need to tell Daddy."

"I'm worried what dad will say or do," she started to argue. "It implies a lot, he was in my room. We've been intimate, even if he's done things that I'd rather him not do. What will dad think? What will he do?"

"'I don't know," her sister looked just as worried as she felt. He had decreed that they be chaste, that they save themselves for their wedding nights.

"So you're stuck?" Jade asked and she looked up at her, looking the other girl in the eye. "You are stuck with him because of the deal with your dad? And then you made it worse?"

"Jade," Ruby chided. "There's more to it than that, I'm sure."

"He's persuasive," she offered. "He usually doesn't give me the chance to tell him no, I asked him to stop once and he got... he got cross with me. He didn't force it, he was just frustrated when I asked him to stop."

"There's something about this that makes me think of the wolf in sheep's clothing," Jade said, scratching her head as she thought. "Like he's more than what he appears to be, ya know?"

"That's the feeling I get," she agreed. "But, I haven't had anyone that would agree with me or they don't see what I do."

"The way he dotted on you the last time he was here doesn't seem anything less than genuine," Amber argued. "The way he looked at you at dinner was like you were the only person in the room. If he's something other than what he appears, why would he look like a man in love like that?"

"How long have you been engaged?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Four months?" She paused to think, before nodding. That was about right.

"I guess it could be possible that a person can fall for another in a short amount of time, but," Ruby looked doubtful. "You haven't spent the last four months together, have you?"

She shook her head, "The majority of the time we've exchanged letters. But I would hardly call them romantic. If anything I would equate them to something I would send to you or Jade." She flushed, "I think the majority of his fascination is sexual."

"So he doesn't love you, but he lusts after you," Amber said evenly. "It could be worse. He could prefer men." Her two friends gave her sister a confused look and she waved it away, "It's not important. The main concern you should have is that once he beds you that he doesn't forget about you."

"I don't see how that would be a bad thing," she sighed.

"I can only imagine how boring it would be," her sister leaned back into her seat.

"I don't suppose there's anything you can do to get out of an engagement that your parents set, is there?" Jade asked.

"I think it would take something really serious for me to be able to get out of it," she confided. "I've tried every angle I can think of. I can't find anything on his kingdom other than a history lesson."

"Sometimes you can learn from history," Ruby offered.

"It would have to be something major for Daddy to agree that marrying Victor wasn't for the best. Maybe if he was abusive or something," Amber cupped her chin in her hand as she considered it, "Maybe if he was unfaithful. But, that one would be hard to prove. Whatever reason you have to take to Daddy you would have to have evidence to support it. Especially considering how hard you fought the engagement in the beginning."

She started to wave her hands, "I think the topic is beyond moot at this point. How long do I have until the wedding?"

"Four weeks," Amber supplied.

"There's no use in trying to find a way out of it anymore," she felt defeated as she admitted it. "If I haven't found any way out of it before now. I'm not going to. The best thing I can do is hope that I'm wrong and he's really a good man," She sighed.

Jade glowered at her, "I've never known you to give up on something."

"I've never really been stuck like this," she frowned at her friend.

"We'll be here for you, no matter what happens," Ruby smiled weakly at her. "Just don't forget about us."

"I could never forget about you," she said solemnly, returning the smile.

"Ladies," the castle steward had come out to fetch the remnants of their lunch and looked mildly disturbed by the faces of the four girls around the table. "Is everything alright?"

"Just some heavy conversation, Baileywick," Amber answered coolly. "Nothing to worry about."

"Alright," he sounded as if he didn't believe her. "Is there anything I could bring you? Perhaps some more tea?"

"We're fine, Baileywick," she smiled at him, trying to make it brightly lit and feeling it fail.

His brows drew together as he studied her expression and sighed, "Well, if you need anything you feel free to call on me. We have a few hours before dinner. Will you two girls be joining us?"

"Yes sir," Ruby affirmed.

"That's great to hear, I'll be sure to have the additional settings on the table for you," he finished reloading the cart that he had brought out with him and paused giving her shoulder a squeeze. "I'm sure you ladies can think of lighter topics to converse on. The atmosphere around this table is worrisome."

"You don't need to worry, Baileywick, we were just going to change the subject to something more entertaining," Amber waved her fan and turned her attention to the other two girls. "I remember the last time we were in the village someone made mention of the butcher's boy?"

The afternoon dissolved into evening and they had to venture into the castle when it became too dark to stay in the garden. They cleaned up and went on to the dinner table. Her mother seemed happy that her friends had decided to stay for dinner and had even gone as far to offer to contact their families if they wanted to stay the evening. Unfortunately, they both declined. As they got older both Ruby and Jade had responsibilities to their families. Jade spent the majority of the evening shooting glares at her father.

He didn't seem to notice.

After dinner she walked her two friends to the front of the castle where a carriage waited to take them back to their respective homes. "Are you upset?" She ventured carefully, eyeing Jade.

"I'm worried," she admitted, wrapping her arms around her. "I think of all the things that you've done for me while we were growing up, even after you became a princess, and I can't help but think you don't deserve this."

"I was so sure you would end up with your sorcerer," Ruby quipped as she wrapped her arms around her and Jade, too. It felt good, being hugged by her two friends. "The way you started to just moon over him even when you weren't here. I thought you would get a happily ever after. Cause, well... you know the princess thing."

"I think we're all assuming the worse," she winced because she knew she was a horrible liar and if anyone would know she was fibbing it would be these two. "He agreed that I could have monthly visits in Enchancia. I bet I'm just assuming all these bad things because I don't know him well enough."

"Right," Jade extended the I a little more than necessary.

"I'm sure there's a bright side to it," Ruby smiled as she released her. "We're just not looking hard enough at it. We'll see you again soon." With that she went to board the carriage. "Cmon Jade I gotta get up early!"

She let go of Jade so the other girl could follow her friend, "I'll reserve my judgements for when I meet this guy."

She couldn't help but laugh, waving as her friends were taken away in the carriage. "You guys have a good night!" She waved broadly and saw it mirrored from her friends. No matter how the situation ended seeing them made her feel better. She stood out on the front steps well after the carriage rode out of sight.

The air chilled and started to bite into her arms. She hugged herself and turned, mournful now that her friends were gone. She went back to the castle, going to retire to her room. She changed into her nightgown and was ready to climb into bed when she saw the thick tome sitting on her bedside table.

The book he had given her had proven a good distraction. She found herself learning more about dragons each time she had picked it up. She had been hesitating to pick it because of the embarrassing nature she was about to come across. But, now, without anything else to do and not quite ready to fall asleep, she decided to broach the subject of sex and reproduction.

She picked up the book and opened it to the marked section, setting aside the quill she had been using as a bookmark. Her discomfort was misplaced. The chapter was clinical and not at all embarrassing as she anticipated. It discusses the pretenses that they mated often without a season, dragons were not monogamous but often would choose favorites that were referred to as consorts. The pair would choose their consort and mark them with a distinguishing bite or a scratch.

She found herself staring at the phrase on the parchment for a long moment. The other words began to blur and all that stood out was the word 'bite.'

"You are mine," it flitted through her mind and she sat up as she stared at the book. He had claimed her with a bite and seemed to be very adamant about the fact that she was aware that she belonged to him. Did this mean she was his consort now? This seemed significant on some measure that he would claim her in the same manner a dragon would claim another. He had said it was a tradition.

She plucked up her bookmark and set it into the book, closing it and standing. She needed someone to toss her thoughts against and there was only one person that would listen to her reasoning. She gave the clock a fleeting glance before she went to the door and it gave her pause.

It was nearly midnight.

There was a good chance that he would be up still. But the last time she had paid him a late night visit he had scolded her. It would be inappropriate for her to go to him now. Especially considering she was currently dressed for bed.

Feeling defeated, she set the book down and blew out the candle that lit up her room. She would be better off trying to sleep. She would have to see the castle's sorcerer in the morning. Maybe then she could figure out the thoughts that plagued her.

It wasn't possible that he was a dragon, was it?

She woke up the next morning after a near sleepless night. The idea that she had come across the night before wouldn't cease plaguing her. She couldn't figure out if it had any merit to it. It didn't seem feasible. He looked like a man, there was on the brief occasion when he growled or the one occasion that he purred that he seemed anything, but what he was.

Frustrated and unsure, she dressed for the day. She decided against joining her family for breakfast and picked up the book. She had to talk about this idea with someone. She had to get it off her chest. She left her room and headed to the sorcerer's tower. It was early, but it would be within what he called his 'working hours.' She knocked on his door then stepped back, holding the book close as she waited for him to answer.

The door opened and he peered out at her with a grimace, "Of course it's you. Come in. I'm sure you have something fantastic to bother me with too early in the morning." He opened the door wider for her and gestured for her to come in, "This should be good."

She tried not to glower at him, upset that he didn't seem to take anything she had dealing with Victor seriously. She went over to his work table and dropped the book on it. She tried not to be frustrated with him as she threw the book open to the marked page and then turned to glare at him.

"Have you found something?" He asked as he came over, after closing the door. He peered at the page she had opened to, quickly devouring the information on the page. "Where did you get this book?"

"He gave it to me," she offered.

He shot her a look, "Okay, then tell me why I am reading the mating habits of dragons."

"They mark their consort with a bite or a scratch," she pointed out to him. "He bit me."

She could see his eyebrow twitch as he tried to understand what she was getting at. She was sure the subject of the conversation wasn't one he would like to speak on, "I'm aware of this. But I am not connecting the dots, princess. Enlighten me as to what you are getting at."

"He told me when he did it and then again after that it he had staked his claim upon me, that he was marking me as his," she was trying not to get impatient, but found herself failing. "He told me that it was a tradition among his people. And it's something dragons do."

"Are you suggesting that the man is a dragon?" He looked hard at her, "Are you so desperate that you are truly grasping at straws now?"

"That's what I'm suggesting," her brows drew together.

"Do you realize how ludicrous it sounds?" She felt her chin wobble uncontrollably. He didn't understand. "Have you taken this to your father?" She shook her head, looking away from him, "Then you understand how mad it sounds?"

"It's not madness," she snapped at him, shooting a glare at him. "Look at the book," she waved a hand to it. "He wrote it. How would he get all that information? Why would he do what he did to me?" He humored her, listening with a raised eyebrow and folding his arms over his chest. "It's possible!"

He waved a hand, trying to pacify her, "You know a dragon, do you not?" She nodded, knowing he was referring to Crackle. "Have you ever known her to change into a human or anything close?" She shook her head again, feeling foolish now. It must have reflected on her expression because he carefully touched her shoulder, "Are you so desperate that you dreaming up possibilities that aren't possible?"

"I don't know," she said helplessly. It had seemed probable last night.

His hand trailed down to the gem around her neck, wrapping his fingers around it. "There is a means to get out of this, if you refuse to run away from it. If your father refuses to allow you out of it," his thumb stroked over the purple gem. She felt him pull it taunt, if he tugged on it harder she was sure the chain would snap, "Give me this and I will take the crown. I will end your engagement to the beast of a man." His voice lowered and while she didn't need to strain to hear him, she did take a step closer, "You could be my queen."

"His dragons..."

"I would have all the power of the Amulet of Avalor, if you give it to me," he assured her. "His dragons, no matter the number wouldn't stand a chance against me."

"What about my family?" Rational thought finally hit her, "If you took the crown what about mom and dad?"

"I would keep them safe," his voice raised just a bit. "I would do nothing that would bring you harm or distress."

Her brows drew together as she looked at him, she saw someone just as desperate as she was. Though she wasn't sure if it were for the same reason, "I want you, but-"

"You could have me," he interrupted her. "There would be no pretenses or obligations to worry about. You could have me and all of me. I would give everything to you," emotion seemed to make his voice crack just a little. "There would be no repercussions you would have to worry about or contend with. Give me the Amulet and I could save you from this."

"But, there would be," she wanted nothing but to throw her arms around him. "This isn't the way."

He looked as if he was ready to jerk the necklace from around her neck, if he did she wasn't sure if she would try to stop him. But, after an exaggerated sigh, he released it. "Damn your sense of morals."

"I'm sorry," she cupped her hands around her necklace. "But, it's not the way out of this."

"And the madness about your fiancé," he spit out the word as if it was a foul thing for him to say, "being a dragon is?" He made a noise and moved to sit at his work table, "If you went to your father with that he would assume you were hysterical and may very well commit you to your room until you came to your senses."

"It would be less damaging than giving you the Amulet," she said gently. She closed her book and started towards the door, she had regretted that she came to him now.

"Wait," his voice was hard and she stilled not, yet, ready to turn back to him. "I have something for you." She heard him rise and peered over her shoulder to see him approach the portrait of his parents. He gave it a solid knock, "Mother. Come now, I know you're there. I saw you peak out at us a moment ago."

His mother was suddenly out of the portrait, she looked remorseful. "Sorry, deary, you bid for me to come when I heard the Princess. I didn't mean to intrude on your personal moment."

"It's fine," he said, looking distraught at the sight of her mother. She gave his cheek a pat and a smile, "We have some work to do." He turned away from her and went to his potions cabinet, pulling two books from it. "I have something of a wedding present for you." The contempt he poured into the word wedding gave it a lot of weight.

She had four weeks before it was upon her, she grimaced as she watched him set the two books on his table. One appeared to have a plain brown cover with no distinguishing marks on it. The other was a deep violet color that had a gold inlay on it, there was swirls decorating it that sparkled and when she got a closer look she saw that her name was transcribed in the center of it. It looked beautiful.

She stepped forward, nearly dropping the book in her arms, "You got me something?"

"I started working on it once you accepted the man," he said sourly. "Well, I had mother's assistance. It's not quite finished. There's a final spell that we need to cast upon them."

"That's what I am here to do," his mother smiled at her.

"He can't cast it?" She looked curious, setting her book on her stool.

"He cannot because he is a part of it," she said as she pulled her wand from her sleeve. "Are you two ready to do it?"

"I am," he said testily, pulling a dagger from his draw. He held it up between them, as if he were offering it to her.

"I don't understand what we are doing," she eyed the dagger apprehensively. "What is this for?"

"We are going to cast a binding spell, a spell that will bind you to your journal and to my journal. But, it will also bind me to your journal and my own," he explained simply. "For us to be able to do this we will need a drop of blood from the both of us."

"You could also bind her to you," his mother offered in a seemingly helpful tone.

"That's not helping, mother," he complained. "I have no desire to be privy to any moments she might have with her husband." He sighed heavily and looked at her, "What this will do is it will connect us to the two journals so that anything you write in yours will appear in mine. And visa versa."

"It will give me a means to stay in contact with you?"

"Yes," he answered. "I find the idea of being completely without you quite a bit bothersome. Especially since you have made this grand effort to force yourself in my life." It was likely to be as close to him telling her that he was going to miss her as she was going to get. "Shall we continue or do you object to the idea?"

She offered her hand to him, "Don't be too dramatic, darling. He only needs a drop. He can just prick your finger." His mother said having her wand at the ready. He took her hand and carefully pressed the blade into her index finger. There was a sharp pain and she took a quick breath. She watched as he did the same thing to himself, not bothering with wiping the blade clean.

She watched the blood well up into a little bubble at her fingertip, captivated by it. "With this drop of blood I bind you to this parchment," he grabbed her hand and twisted it so the blood dripped from the wound onto the page of her opened journal. He then did the same, dripping his own onto it. "None shall within it, but thine eye." He shifted their hands so that blood dripped onto the page of his journal. He released her hand and allowed her to watch as the blood stood out on the stark white pages. It started to blend, or steep away as it would if the drops had hit water. It was mesmerizing, watching as the blood seeped away until it was nothing but blank parchment once again.

"I connect these tomes, with the drops of blood and make it so they are one," his mother finished, waving her wand only to then point it at the two books on the work table. The pages shuffled and glowed for a moment then settled back down as if they were ordinary.

She looked at them with interest, moving closer to inspected them. They looked like normal books, the pages blank. "Did it work?" She asked curiously.

"Of course it did," his mother said confidently. "It's not the first time I've cast that spell, I'll have you know." Her voice lowered, "It works especially well when you bind two people together."

"Not helping, mother," he gritted out as he picked up a quill and ink pot. He dipped the quill into the ink and then went to write in his own journal. 'Quite obviously, the spell is going to work. I'm insulted by the fact that you would doubt my or my mother's abilities. Where's your gratitude?' He wrote what was a clear scolding in his journal and, like magic, the text appeared in her journal as if he had written it there. "Satisfied?" He asked, glowering at her.

"Yes!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, "Thank you!" She inhaled his scent and breathed out a sigh, "I won't be alone, you have no idea how much this gift means to me."

Hastily, he pushed her away, "All it does is connect us for conversations. If you are in trouble I will be hard pressed to find you without some sort of direction. I cannot use the book as a conduit to teleport to you."

"But, you could use it as a means to track her," his mother offered. "So, in the event she is kidnapped and has it with her, you could use it to find her. Just of example, of course. No one would be foolish enough to kidnap the princess." She laughed lightly, as if it weren't a thought that had crossed her mind.

"That's enough of that," he glowered at his mother and started ushering her towards the family painting. "That was all I needed, thank you for assisting mother."

"Wait," she stepped around him to envelop his mother in a tight hug. "Thank you, Missus Winifred. You've helped me so much over the last few months."

She clucked and patted her back, "Oh anything for you, Princess." She gave her a sad smile when she pulled back, "I will see you at the wedding, Goody and I will both be there." She started to go back into the painting, "If you need me you know where I'll be!" With that she disappeared, leaving them alone.

"This is what you have been working on?"

"Yes," he said gruffly. "Mother and I were working on the journals to be sure that they would make an adequate way to communicate as well as provide privacy from prying eyes. I don't trust that anyone that comes across it won't try to read your inner thoughts or any sort of conversation that you and I may have." He paused for a moment, before narrowing his eyes to glare at her, "Conversations that will be appropriate and not at all inappropriate in any fashion."

She smiled at him, "Of course not." Before he could protest or ward her off, she managed to wrap her arms around him again. She clung to him, foiling any attempt he might make at prying her off. Only he didn't, if anything he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pressed his cheek against the crown of her head. After shifting her tiara aside, of course.

And then, all too soon, he let her go and was able to work his way out of her embrace. "I have Royal sorcerer duties to attend to. So, unless you intend to assist me as an apprentice I suggest you run along. You've been in my hair quite enough today," he said with his usual snark.

"I can go change and help," she offered, unable to resist the sudden flutter of excitement that rushed through her. "If you'd like?"

"Hurry up then," he turned to pick up the journal he had helped create for her and offered it to her. "I expect you to take great care of this. It wasn't at all easy to make."

"I will," she took it, cradling it to her chest. "I definitely will. I'll be back," she picked her the book she had lugged up there and went to the door of his tower, turning to give him a fleeting grin before she went out it. She ran to her room, forgetting her princessly manners in her excitement to do real magic work. She threw her doors open and had just enough time to slide them closed again before she nearly tore her gown off for the simple dress she wore while doing her apprentice work. The book and journal was put on the bed to be forgotten.

Magic, even if it was just potion making, would be a distraction she needed. She was dressed, wand in hand, and out her bedroom door in a flash. She ran back to his tower, it probably took her all of thirty minutes to get changed and back. A feat considering the difficulties of the gowns that she wore.

She panted at his door, getting in a knock before she doubled over to try to catch her breath. It was a shame that his tower was so far from her room. Once he opened the door he immediately put her to work, they fell into their old routine. It was comforting. They made short work of his potions backlog, restocked his cabinet with the essentials, and he even gave her pointers on some defensive spells that he had advised her to practice. He would watch her form, correct it, then have her pretend cast. He helped her on her pronunciation. He even allowed her to cast the spells against him.

One disarmed him of his wand, he told her that it would be effective against any ruffians that may try to attack her with a sword or other weapon. Another forced an attacker away, blowing him back into his work table and blasting his hair upward. It had caused her to go into a fit of laughter, she couldn't contain. His expression deadpan, he returned the favor and proceeded to make a mess of her. It didn't break her of the giggles.

It would have been perfect if it wasn't interrupted due to the castle steward calling her to dinner. She had missed lunch due to their impromptu magic less. She gave him a last look, smiling as she did. "Thank you," she breathed. "For everything."

"It's always my pleasure, Princess," he answered in return.

Dinner with her family was less stressful or strained. Her siblings had appeared a little less at odds at with each other, though James hadn't lost the melancholy look he had to him. He still didn't drive conversation like he used to and he looked down. It made her heart twist. He had been adamant about the fact that the 'experimenting' with Zandar had been just that. But, she was starting to wonder.

As they were each going their separate ways, retiring for the evening, she found herself following him to his room. When he got to the door she spoke up, "Do you want to talk?"

He jumped as if startled then turned to look at her, "Huh?"

"I can't help but notice how down you look," she folded her hands behind her back. Trying her best to look as if she wouldn't harm a fly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He smiled at her slightly and opened his bedroom door, "Sure. Come in."

He went in and she followed, casting a cautious look out into the empty hallway. She closed the door behind her and watched as he went to his bed and sat down heavily on it, working lose the buttons of his coat free. "What do you want to talk about?" He asked, as if his overall demeanor hadn't changed in the past few months.

"How are you handling things?"

He waved a hand towards himself, forced a smile that looked dismal, "I'm handling things great, can't ya tell?"

She stood in the outer part of his room, feeling unsure about going in further. "Have you talked to Zandar lately?"

"No," he winced, looking away from her as he shrugged out of his coat and tossed it at the end of his bed. "We hung out when he was at the castle last. But Amber hovered, like she expected us to do something out in the open or something stupid like that. We didn't get the chance to talk about everything that happened." He flopped backwards onto his bed, "I think he's decided to write off what we were doing. He's committing himself fully to Amber."

"That was the idea, wasn't it?"

"Yea," he winced. "I guess it was."

"What's the matter then?" She approached the bed carefully, as if she were approaching a caged animal, "Why do you seem so sad?"

"She's take away my best friend," he gave her an exaggerated look, looking irritated. "We hardly even get the chance to hang out. She bogarts all his time!" He stood, standing in the light linen shirt and his trousers and started to pace, "When me and him try to talk she is there listening in on all of it. There's no privacy for us to discuss anything serious. It's infuriating. And I can't ask her to leave. I know I've earned her distrust, I do. But, C'MON!" He brushed his hands over his face then went on to drag his hands through his hair, "What do I do?"

"Have you tried opening up to Maya?" As far as she knew he hadn't made any effort to connect with the Khaldoun Princess. She rarely saw the other girl and she couldn't think of any time he mentioned her. "Maybe try connecting with her emotionally?"

He gave her a look, as if she hadn't just offered him viable advice and suggested that the sky was purple and not at all blue. "You're kidding right? Maya is not a big fan of me and has made that pretty clear. I guess since the tri kingdoms picnic all those years ago she decided she wasn't my biggest fan. When we were engaged she made it perfectly clear that it wasn't something she wanted." He started to look sad again, "It looks like none of us are really benefitting from the plans dad's made for us."

"I can offer you an ear and a shoulder if you need it," she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "You know I'm always here for you, right?"

He leaned against her, and she had to struggle because it was like he suddenly became dead weight. His head rested on hers and she had the sudden urge to hit him, "Yea… You're here for me until dark and creepy marries you and takes you away." From his tone, and the fact that he was making her struggle to hold him up, she knew he was joking. "I keep thinking that I ought to get revenge on Amber and start screwing all her friends."

She pulled away and gave him a shove so he didn't stumble onto her, "That sounds like a terrible idea. And not at all like you. Besides, what will you do if… If you have an accident?"

"I'd be willing to bed that dark and creepy isn't innocent. Am I wrong?" She swallowed then shook her head, "I bet he's probably got a few bastards running around. Besides, I can't say it wouldn't serve dad right to have something embarrassing to deal with, don't you?"

"James," she sighed, giving him a hard look. Even if he gave her something to think about. "You are better than that. That sounds like Hugo and you know what a big jerk he is. You don't want to be like him, do you?" She kept a hand on his shoulder, trying and hoping to evoke his better way of thinking. "If you make an effort with Maya, I bet she'll meet you halfway at least. You're going to be married."

He deflated, as if he realized the truth behind her words. "Why can't everyone be understanding like you?" He stuck out his bottom lip and proceeded to pout at her, "Can't I be like Hugo?"

"You're too good for that," she smiled at him. "Try Maya. She has to give you the chance I know she does." She gave his shoulder a pat, "I'm going to go to bed. Perk up, really I promise things could be worse than they are. Amber will let up. I promise."

"You promise a lot, but what if you can't keep your promises," he frowned at her, watching her go to his door.

"Be optimistic. If you expect the worse than the worst will happen," she leaned her back against his door, wanting more than anything for him to understand and stop looking so down trodden. "There's always a bright side, right?"

"Do you believe that? What with your upcoming wedding?" He folded his arms over his chest.

She hesitated then looked away, "I've got to, don't I? There's a bright side to everything. The world is only as dark as you let it be."

"So, you are saying that you're not afraid of dark and creepy?"

"James, his name is Victor and you know that."

"Don't avoid the question."

She winced, "He said he wouldn't hurt me. I can only hope he'll keep his word."

"Right," he extended the I longer than necessary and she glowered at him. Growing up with Jade has apparently rubbed off on him. Or maybe it was the other way around.

"I'm going to bed," she repeated, glaring. "If I can accept Victor, you can make an effort with Maya."

"Fine," he sounded sour and turned back to his bed. "Good night," he didn't wait for her to leave he started undressing.

She flushed and turned, opening the door. "Good night," with that she slid out the door and hurried to her own room. She shouldn't be noticing such things about her brother. Her face felt hot. She couldn't fathom why she was noticing the attractiveness or appeal of others.

She opened her own door and she was in her room. She pressed her back against the door and tried to get a reign the sudden flood of emotions and hormones. The view of the books neatly stack on her bed caught her attention. Someone had been in her room. She approached the bed and noticed the folded parchment on top of them. There wasn't a doubt in her mind who the letter was from or who had placed it there, likely the castle steward. She hadn't been making the effort to keep in contact with him.

It had been a few days since she last sent him a letter. The letter was probably concerning that. She picked it up and set it on her bedside table, not at all ready to read it. Then the book he had given her followed, while her sorcerer had provided a good distraction for her for the day there was still the uneasy thought. Could he be a wolf in sheep's clothing?

She tried to banish the thought, because it sounded ridiculous. Even in her rational thoughts. She knew dragons, she's met them before. They never appeared to look like a person to lure princesses away from their kingdoms. Nerves had her envisioning things that weren't there.

She went about the last bits of her evening routine, changing into her nightgown and brushing out the day from her hair. She picked up the gifted, magic journal and pulled back the blankets. She sat down and opened up the journal and re read the chiding he had given her. Below it in smudged lettering, as if he wrote it then changed his mind and tried to wipe it away. But, even with the smudges it was easy to read in his compact neat hand.

'I love you.'

She stared at the words, her heart fluttering in her chest. She had known, on some level, that he cared for her. But to see it, in his handwriting left her feeling heady. She laid back against her pillow and held her journal to her chest. She fell asleep that way, clinging to his words that she wished she had heard him say.


	11. Chapter 11

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story is rated M for mature, meaning there is mature content ahead. Really if you got this far and skipped all the sexy scenes I have to applaud you. There's none in this chapter. But there is a conversation that is something of a squicky matter. As well as more references to womanly troubles. I know, I should really writing about that, but it seems relevant somewhere. I'll get to telling you why it's relevant at some point.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

Moving things right along...

* * *

She awoke with a discomfort, something hard pressed into her breasts making it difficult to remain asleep. She rolled over onto her back and sighed when she relieved the pressure from her chest. She arched her back and heard a sound pop. Settling back down, she felt at ease and comfortable once again. The sun streamed into the window and it was enough to wake her. But it left her waking in the most pleasant mood.

She found the journal, the reason for her discomfort and spied the smudge admission written in his hand on the page. She found herself hugging the book again and trying, but unable to contain her excitement over it. She wanted to squeal, she wanted to run to his tower and tackle him.

He loved her.

She turned on her side, holding the book he had given her and holding onto the idea that with the knowledge that he loved her that it would fix everything. Everything would be okay now, because he loved her. She closed her eyes and basked in the feelings that it evoked in her. There was something to knowing the person you loved, loved you in return.

She sat up, should she write that she loved him back? Was there really a doubt it his mind? She started to get out of bed until she was faced with a glaring reality. It sat on top of a book on her bedside table. If it had eyes it would literally be glaring at her. The folded parchment may have looked innocent, but it was really just cold reality.

She felt her heart twist up into a knot and she looked down at the book that held the words she had longed to hear. They were there, but there was nothing she could do with them. She choked on her emotions, unable to stop the tears from flowing. There was nothing like the feeling of being trapped. They loved one another, but couldn't be together.

She closed the book and reached to pick up the letter, not bothering to reel in the emotions pouring down her cheeks. She opened reality to read what he had written to her.

The letter was polite, as was all his letters to her. It questioned her, why had she stopped writing? He went on to express how he missed their frequent exchanges and hoped that she would find the time to write him in return, at least to advise him as to how she was doing. There was also a warning, or that was how she took it, that he would be returning to Enchancia within the coming days. He intended to stay until their wedding.

Her stomach clenched and twisted, turning the morning that had started so pleasantly into dark and painful. She sat the letter aside, she didn't see the point in answering it if she knew he would be here soon. She pulled her knees to her chest and held onto them, wishing she was still in her dreams.

She hadn't bothered to start her day, opting to stay on her bed and dwell in the despair that had swept her away. She would have stayed that way as long as she could, but a knock at the door pulled out of her reverie. She stood up from her bed and went to the door, opening it to find her sister.

Amber's brows drew together and she looked like she was about to chastise her for still being in her nightgown. But, she must have had something telling on her expression because the other girl quieted before she even started. She stepped into her room without asking and before she could think to complain herself, her sister wrapped her in a hug. It was something uncharacteristic of her. Her arms were around her shoulders and she held onto her tightly.

She couldn't contain the sobs and she didn't try. The rare comfort from her sister was hard to resist. She buried her face against her shoulder and clung to her. She wasn't sure how long they stood there, her sister holding her as she wept at her own misfortune. Amber combed her fingers through her hair, murmuring things like 'it's alright, everything will be okay.' It was comforting and oddly nurturing of her sister. She pulled herself away, just slightly, with a sniffle. "I'm sorry, " she managed.

Her sister gave her a sad smile, as if she knew what was really wrong. "It's alright, I know sometimes the monthly thing hits you hard. You put on a brave face all the time and it's that one time of the month that all of it comes crashing down," she sighed at her. "There's nothing to be sorry about when all your emotions suddenly decide to rebel on you for a week."

She wiped her cheeks, trying not to feel disgruntled. Amber didn't know, but she wasn't far off the mark. "You started, too?"

"A day ago, " she confided. "I was going to ask you to go see Cedric for one of his potions for me, but it looks like I better go myself. I'll bring you back a vial or two." She smiled at her, giving her shoulder a squeeze, "You'll make it, Sofia. You always do. This is just a little hiccup in the month. As soon as you forge your way through it, it will be as if nothing happened."

"It's not that easy," she whimpered and her sister patted her back.

"Cold feet, too?" She chuckled at her and released her. "Try not to think too hard on it. Especially in your extra sensitive state. I promise for the next week I won't have anything for you to do. We can push back the final fitting of your dress until after this inconvenient week is over for the both of us." She sighed, deciding not to try to correct her sister. "Get dressed in something comfortable. I'll send Violet up with some tea, maybe some chocolate. I know that usually makes me feel better. Is there anything specific that you can think of that will make you feel better?" She shook her head and her sister gave her cheek a kiss, "I'll let you be then. How about we have lunch together in here? We can talk if you like?"

"That sounds nice," she said weakly. Because Amber seemed to be striving to make her feel better.

Amber turned her around and directed her further into her room, "Go get dressed. I'll be back in a little while." With that she turned to step back into the hallway, going on to the task she had set out to do.

She went to do what she had been ordered to do, finding her favorite comfortable dress and decided to forgo the corset. Wrapped in her silken shift and her favorite light linen dress, she went to her window seat to await the return of her sister. Her handmaid arrived just after she sat down, clucking at her forlorn look. She brought tea, cookies, and chocolate at her sister's bidding. She even went as far to go ahead and pour her a cup, handing her the cup and saucer.

"Is there anything else I can get you, love?" She gave her temple a kiss, fussing over her as if she were her mother. "Do I need to get the padded bloomers?"

"It might be for the best," she said as she gazed out the window, "But I can't think of anything else that I need."

Violet sat beside her on the window seat, reaching forward to brush her hair away from her face. "Lovely, I know your hormones have your emotions at odds and your doubts aren't helping. But everything will be alright, you are such a good soul. Fate could never be cruel to you."

She sniffled as she met the other woman's gaze, "But isn't it already?"

"It may seem that way now," she gave her a slight smile. "But, in time you may become fond of him."

"If only it was that easy," she whimpered and she saw clarity in the other woman's eyes.

Her handmaid stood, leaned forward and gave her forehead a kiss. "Keep him in your heart then, love," she took a moment to adjust her tiara then went about making her bed and the few other chores she had to do about her room. She left her alone, carrying a basket of her laundry.

She sipped her tea and tried to get a reign in on herself. She needed to have herself settled before Amber returned. There was good chance that her sibling had ulterior motives, coming to her room. The hug she had given her would come with a cost, as did most things that involved Amber.

As if she could read her thoughts, her sister opened her door and swept in. How she managed to keep herself cool and calm during her monthlies she could never fathom. Maybe there was something to her earlier comment that she put on a brave face for so long that it had to crumble some time. "Are you feeling better?" She asked as she came to join her at the window seat, pausing to pour herself some tea and pluck up a piece of chocolate. "Have you had a chocolate? They look divine."

"I haven't yet," she picked one up herself and bit into it delicately. The chocolate melted on her tongue and she sat back to savor the flavor. She closed her eyes and sighed as the sweetness of the candy seemed to settle her, "It's good."

She watched as Amber took a bite out of hers then hummed in delight, closing her eyes as she ate the piece of candy. "Delicious," she sighed before sipping her tea. "This was a great idea, right? Tea and chocolate. I think we are going to have to do this more often without the excuse of our cycles making us need chocolate." She nodded her agreement, settling back against a pillow to watch the world outside as she sipped her tea. "Are you alright, Sofia?"

She decided to not meet her sister's gaze, "I'm managing, I guess."

"Three weeks to go," Amber commented. "Is it cold feet? Or are you afraid of marrying him or is it something else?"

She closed her eyes, trying to stifle the pain of the truth. "A combination I think, of knowing that I'm going to marry him and the man I love is so close by and there's nothing neither of us can really do that isn't drastic. Victor's nice, I guess, but I don't really know. There's so many questions that I have about him that he's not really answered."

"What do you talk about in your letters?" She asked curiously, get another chocolate and taking a moment to eat it. "Mm, if you were writing each other as often as Daddy suggested, aren't you getting to know each other?"

"Well," she shrugged slightly as she struggled to answer. "We have been talking quite a bit. Mostly about what interests we have. It's not really telling his personality and what kind of husband he'll be if you get what I mean."

Amber nodded, looking sympathetic, "I suppose you have a point. You don't really know how someone will be until they have a chance to show their true face. I guess we're both at a disadvantage here in that respect." She sighed and set aside her tea cup, "I wasn't aware that Zandar was doing what he was with James until I walked in on them."

She thought of the conversation she had with her brother the other night, "I know you're still angry at him. I can't say that you don't have the right to be. But, I think you also need to remember that Zandar is James' best friend."

"I don't trust him, James that is," she retorted. "If I am going to accept Zandar even after his transgression, I can't trust them alone. So, I won't allow them to be alone together. I don't expect you to understand how I feel."

"I'm not telling you to," she amended, because her sister did have a tendency to be stubborn. "But, give them at least enough space to talk alone?" Amber started to sniff in disdain at the idea, "What if he kept you from talking to Hilde?"

She snorted at the idea, "How would James be capable of something like that?"

"He could get Zandar to forbid you from seeing her, kind of like how you are keeping them from being friends," she pointed out making sure she kept her tone even.

"James isn't petty like that," Amber argued.

"He told me the other day he was considering going through your friends and sleeping with them," she shrugged. "That doesn't sound like him either, but he's capable of doing it. He's attractive enough and I know a few that would gladly go to his bed."

Her lip curled in disgust and it was evident that the other girl believed her. "He's not that petty, but honestly I wouldn't put it past him if I had him angry enough." She pinched the bridge of her nose, a move she had seen their father do quite often when feeling frustrated. "Fine, fine! I'll give them space. I'll stop hovering so close. I still don't trust him."

"I told him to try to connect with Maya, being like Hugo wouldn't do anything for him and he was better than that," she confided. "He just misses having his friend. I think he can let go of..." She paused as she carefully picked the words she would use to describe what James and Zandar had been doing, "the intimate part of their relationship go. But making him relinquish his friendship with him completely is cruel."

"You're right, as usual," she rolled her eyes. "Can we please change the subject to something more interesting and less … Depressing?"

"Depressing?" At her sister's dark look she nodded, reaching to pluck up a chocolate. "What else did you want to talk about?"

"I know this isn't entirely appropriate given the timing, but," Amber's cheeks flushed. "I pushed you for information on the details of what Victor was doing to you because… Well. I would like to know because I've been struggling with ways to get Zandar to want me, to want to be intimate with me. I… I just don't know how and it's entirely too unladylike for me to ask specifically."

"I wish you would have said that instead of trying to strong arm me in front of Ruby and Jade," she complained. "You could have just come to me for us to have a private conversation on matters that are completely private."

"I do believe I apologized for that," she looked away, though the flush didn't seem to leave her face. "How did you get him to do things to you?"

"I didn't do anything to get him to do things to me. Everything Victor's done to me has been of his own accord," she grimaced, "I've just been along for the ride."

"But, it felt good. You said so before."

"It did," she admitted. "But, I didn't give him any direction. I tried to recreate the things he made me feel, but I… I don't know how."

"You mean you've touched yourself over it?" She sounded scandalized by it.

"Honestly, I think he's trying to get me to the point where I'm craving it. And… I've been craving it. Well, not right now. But, you understand, don't you?" She looked uneasily at her sister, fearing her judgment.

"You mean, you think he's trying to make it to where you want him?" She nodded, "Well, I suppose that is a way to garner the affections of the person you are to be wed to. Though I don't imagine that a relationship based on sex could really go very far. From what Hildegarde tells me, if he's doing it right it can be very addicting. She also said, from the noises she heard coming from your room the night of the ball that he had to be very generous. So, I'm assuming he was doing something right."

Her face felt hot, "Well, he's seems to be very knowledgeable. He called what we were doing experiments. And, while I don't really want to agree with him, how do you know what you're going to like if you don't experiment a little?"

"I guess you do have a point, that's probably what led to James and Zandar doing what they were doing," she sighed, perhaps frustrated that she kept falling back to that. "I want Zandar to want me, I want to be able to do things with him and know what's going to please him. I really don't want to spend my marriage competing with my brother for affections with my husband."

"I don't think that's something you really have to worry about, I can't claim to understand your fears. But, I think they both agreed to stop for the sake of your marriage it will be just the two of you. Really, James hasn't been one to go back on his word. I can't claim to know Zandar well enough but if he really fears the repercussions that might fall of him if his parents were to find out," she glowered at her sister. "You're dwelling too much on it. They've made an agreement to not be intimate anymore. All James wants from Zandar now is his friendship."

"I know! I know!" She put her tea cup aside and stood, starting to pace. "I know and I hear you! I just can't help but keep going back to that. It's like it's burned into my mind! You didn't even see it!" She started to fuss with her hair, pausing to look at herself in the mirror. She thought for a moment she saw her sister's own control over her emotions starting to fray. "James was laid back against his pillows, they both had their shirts off and you saw that much, but he had his eyes closed and he looked as if he were in heaven. He had his hand in Zandar's hair while he... he had his mouth on him." Her face with flushed and suddenly, she realized it wasn't from anger. It became apparent that Amber was excited by what she had seen when she caught their brother and her fiancé together.

"You keep dwelling on it because-"

"Don't say it," she snapped at her. "You don't need to say it!"

"You liked what you saw," she couldn't help, but finish. She stared at her sister in surprised.

"I told you not to say it," she sounded exacerbated now. "I really didn't need you to say that. Why couldn't you listen to me when I asked you not to!?"

"That's why you're still dwelling on it! I... I really don't know what to say," she just couldn't keep her eyes off her sister as she paced back and forth. "Does this mean you're attracted to James?" She swallowed thickly, because the idea was definitely disturbing.

"I'm not attracted to James," she said stiffly, "That's not the part that got to me. It was what they were doing to each other. The expression of his face and the noises he was making," she covered her face with her hands. "I can't believe I'm telling you this." She shook her head, "I didn't scream at first. I stood there and watched them and they didn't even realize I was there." She fretted with the front of her gown, "I felt so constricted and I couldn't think what to do. I keep wondering what they would have done if I had come to join them on the bed. And I know, I know that would have been unacceptable. I didn't scream until after he opened his eyes and caught me watching."

She didn't know what to say, she was shocked. She couldn't really pin her sister to stand and watch as their brother engaged in a sexual act with another boy. "What did he say when he saw you watching?"

She waved a hand, "He shoved Zandar away and quickly went to cover himself. Then started blaming me for walking in without knocking. I'll have you know, I always knock. It's not my fault if he's too caught up in himself to hear me knock."

Her eyes widened, "You've walked in on him before?"

If she could flush more she would rival a tomato, Amber looked away, "As I said I knock. It is hardly my fault if you make a noise that I mistake for an affirmative and I walk in on you having a personal moment."

"But, you never walk in on me," she started to argue. "You're just walking in on James."

"You're judging me," she folded her arms over her chest. "I demand that you stop! I don't judge you, Sofia!"

She tried not to get frustrated with her sister now, standing to close the distance between them, "C'mon you do, too. But really... You realize how bad this sounds, don't you? You.. You don't have a thing for James, do you? You don't want him, do you?" She grimaced at the idea, while she and James didn't share blood she was still put off by the idea of any attraction she might have to him. She was disturbed when she noticed his male appeal.

"I don't," she insisted looking just as disturbed as she felt. "You should really be ashamed of yourself for even suggesting the idea." She looked away, "I'm not like Hildegarde, Sofia. While I would flirt with Hugo and the other boys, I never really found interest in them. They were insipid with their wants and their questions and their hands wanting to be everywhere." She went back to the window seat, picking up a chocolate and eating it. "The first time I accidentally walked in on James pleasuring himself was the first time I can honestly say I noticed the appeal of boys. It's not exactly James, though... I think because our features are so similar, I think that has something to do with it."

She looked at her sister with a bit of confusion, "You love yourself so much that you are appealed to James because he looks so much like you."

"That sounds right," she agreed, if she had a fan she would be using it to hide her embarrassment. But, she evidentially didn't so she was fidgeting with her gown. "I don't want James, that would be wrong and disgusting. But, I find... I find that if he still desires Zandar..." She didn't finished, looking embarrassed, "I don't know where that thought leads. I never really thought myself as perverse until I walked in on them and saw them together." She covered her eyes, "Maybe I should seek some sort of help? Am I depraved?"

"I don't know that I would call you depraved," she tried to comfort her, with words. Though the thoughts that Amber had did seem wicked. "I really don't know if you could or should seek help from anyone about the thoughts about James. I think... taking a step at a time to relieve tension you might have, might be a good idea." She scratched at the back of her head as she thought it out, "I really don't know that I'm the person that can give you any kind of sexual advice. Maybe you should talk to Hilde?"

"Oh, I'm not going to tell Hildegarde any of this," she rolled her eyes at that. "Do you really think she could keep any of that to herself? Everyone in every kingdom around the world would not only know about the infidelity that Zandar had, but my depravity as well."

"I didn't mean that," she waved a hand. "That sounds like something you would definitely want to keep to yourself. I mean about the sexual experience?"

That got a snort from her, "You know from all that she might brag about it, and as experienced as she claims to be. I would bet my best tiara that Hilde has never really been with a man. If you think Daddy is being strict about us remaining chaste then her father is worse. I know there are rumors and she does nothing but encourage them. But, if she's ever had any experience at all it was fumbled make out sessions with Hugo that only ended with them both agreeing to bolster the other's reputation."

"That actually sounds like the both of them," she admitted.

"I can trust this conversation will remain between the both of us?"

"I can't see how it would come up as the subject of debate with anyone else," she felt embarrassed now that she knew this intimate secret about her sister. "Though, I can tell you that you may want to consider giving James space. A lot of it."

"I will relent on my hovering," she stood, taking one last bit of chocolate. "I already said that. I think I'm going to go lie down. Oh and before I forget," she pulled a vial from her pocket and offered it to her. "I didn't forget to bring you a potion."

She took it, "I hope you feel better. If you need to talk?" Though, she didn't say it. She hoped that if her sibling decided to return to her for conversation that it would be of an entirely different manner.

"Thank you," Amber smiled at her, looking relieved. "I'll see you later I'm sure," she went to her door and walked out, sliding the door closed behind her.

She went to sit heavily on her window seat, while she wasn't sure she could completely digest the information she had been fed. But, it had been an adequate distraction. She spent the remainder of the morning at her window seat, trying to process the puzzle of it before she could only shrug her shoulders. Amber was infatuated with herself.

She sighed, grimacing at the discomfort in her lower back. It was enough to change into the padded bloomers her hand maid at fetched for her that morning. Then, there was the appeal of laying down and merely dwelling on her own problems. So she snuggled back into the comfort of her bed and found herself dozing within minutes. The rest of the day had flown by her and the discomfort that had begun to well up in her lower stomach only seemed to increase. Her family was kind enough to leave her be. She suspected that Amber may have informed them that she was suffering so she was given her space.

She did venture down for dinner out of hunger, but it was a quiet meal. The conversation was mainly driven between her parents with Amber occasionally piping in. She merely focused on her meal and, once finished, went back to her bed.

Her best alternative seemed to sleep through the churning emotions and discomfort. And that was what she decided to do, after changing her clothes she took the vial her sister had given her and downed it. Then, finding an older sleep potion stashed in her side table draw, she decided to down that as well. She settled back and let the potions sweep her away into a sweet oblivion.

She slept so well that she wasn't even concerned with the time. She was wrapped in the comfortable warmth of her blankets and cradled in her bed. She was perfectly fine with sleeping away the week. She heard knocks at her door and ignored them. Of course that didn't prevent people from venturing in to check on her.

Her handmaid came to dot on her, asking if she needed anything. Giving her kisses and petting her hair. She reminded her to change when appropriate and left a tray of tea and cookies at her window seat. The woman knew her so well.

It was enough to make her get up to change her bloomers when they needed to be changed, to give her teeth a brushing and her hair. To see to other bodily functions. She even nibbled a cookie, before she was back into her bed and buried herself beneath the blankets. She was content to burn another day in her bed.

Another knock announced another visitor. Only this one wasn't so kind as the first. "You need to get out of bed, Sofia," her sister came in after she knocked. "I'm not staying in bed, you're not going to either."

"It would probably make you more pleasant if you did," she said without care.

"No need to be insulting. But really, Victor sent word ahead that he would be arriving soon. You need to get out of bed so you can greet him when he arrives," she said gently. Making it evident that she wasn't offended by her words.

She winced and covered her head, "He said within the coming days. He didn't say today."

"He was probably vague on purpose, remember how he didn't warn you of his last visit?" She felt the bed shift as her sister sat beside her. "He wants to keep you on your toes, I bet, and keep you off guard."

"Ugh," she rolled over and uncovered her head to look at her sister. "Why would he want to do that?"

"Make you more vulnerable, c'mon. Get out of bed and get dressed. I'll go pilfer some chocolate out of Chef Andre's pantry," Amber rose from the bed. "I'm not sure how long we have, it was just something I heard Daddy talking about when I passed through the throne room. C'mon. I'll be back in a little while to check on you."

She watched her sister leave from the blankets she had bundled herself up in and sighed. Of course he would come while she was still suffering. With more than a bit of frustration, she got out of bed and proceeded to dress. She went with a light dress and even went as far to dress with a shift, forgoing a corset. She wasn't happy and didn't intend to make an effort if he couldn't give her a better warning.

She was out of her room and down stairs when the castle steward called to her. "Princess Sofia," he gave her a light bow. "I was just coming to look for you. Prince Victor is due to arrive soon and your father wanted you out on the front step to greet him."

"Amber over heard him talking about it. She came and got me out of bed," she said with a frown.

"You're looking a bit pale, would you like me to get you something to eat?"

"She bribed me with chocolate."

"Well then, if Princess Amber fails to deliver I will be sure to. Come, you can wait in the front parlor and I'll fetch you some tea," he led the way to the parlor then, after assuring himself she was comfortable went on to the kitchen to do as promised. It wasn't long before he returned with a tea service and her sister trailing just behind him. "Look who I found in the kitchen."

"It's a good thing, too, I was going to go back to your room. If I had, well then, your chocolate may have gotten eaten," Amber smiled at her as she offered her the confection. "And of course, Baileywick had the brilliant idea of bringing tea." She winked at the castle steward.

"It didn't take me long to figure out what would make you ladies happy. If you need anything feel free to call me," he set the tea service down on the table that sat before the lounge she was resting on. "I expect that Prince Victor should be here soon, I will come to get you. Will it be alright if I send James and your parents in here to join you with?"

"Fine, as long as no one expects us to share the chocolate," Amber answered as she came to join her on the lounge. "Reminiscent of yesterday?"

She ate the chocolate she had been given, closing her eyes as she enjoyed it, "Only as long as we don't discuss a similar topic."

"Oh that's definitely not up for discussion in the parlor," Amber poured herself a cup of tea. "Private conversations are only for private," she smiled at her.

They enjoyed tea together for bit before James stalked into the room. He paused in the doorway, glaring daggers at their sister, and turned to go the other way. "James," Amber called to him, setting her teacup on the table. "Come join us, there's chocolate."

He hesitated, looking perplexed. As if he knew there was something she was up to. But, chocolate had a way of calling to people. He came to join them, sitting down on a wingback chair across the table from them. He poured himself a cup of tea, then eyed the cookies that were on the tea service. "Where's the chocolate?"

Amber offered him a morsel that she had been hiding on her saucer, "I had to steal them from Chef Andre's storage. You know how he is about hiding these things for special occasions."

He took it greedily from her and stuffed it into his mouth with little to no care for manners. He hummed and leaned back against the seat as he enjoyed it. "You didn't steal enough," he complained.

"Yes, well, I was trying to be sneaky. I don't think I could manage the whole tray without looking suspicious," Amber sipped at her tea daintily.

"Since you are both here," she decided to broach the subject that she knew would make them both uncomfortable. "I think we should talk about forming a truce between the two of you."

"Sofia, this is hardly the time or place for any sort of talk like that," Amber argued. "That is a private conversation that's meant to be held in private."

"But, forming a truce and agreeing to talk is what I want you two to do," she sighed. "You're siblings, twins. Being at odds with one another for this long just doesn't seem right. Even if it is with just reasoning. Agree to a truce and we can find time to talk civilly and I'm sure you can come to an agreement that makes both of you happy."

"She has a point," James quipped, he always seemed to support her ideas. "If we don't start acting more civilly to one another dad's likely to get angry again. Unless you really want to go into why you are angry with me."

"I'm not arguing that she has a point," Amber bit back at him. "I just don't want to discuss it out in the open."

"I'm just saying that you act as if everything is normal until you can discuss it in private," she supplied.

"I'm not angry," he said with a sigh. "Sad, disappointed, yea. But, I'm not angry with her anymore. I guess it just finally put it in my head that I need to lock my door from now on," he grumbled messing with the cup of tea, balancing it on the arm of the chair he sat in.

She saw Amber flush and knew, due to the subject matter, that it wasn't out of anger. She didn't protest, though, "I will be civil to him until he and I are able to come to an accord on the situation."

She felt relieved, hoping that after the awkward admission from her sister that there would be some sort of leeway between them. She wasn't sure that they could completely come to some sort of agreement that would put their relationship as siblings back to the way it had been. Having that fixed was somewhat of a relief, knowing that she wouldn't have to view Amber's haughtiness around their brother and hear her snide remarks to him. "Good," she took a drink of her own tea.

Their conversation turned idle as they enjoyed the tea that the castle steward provided. It was pleasant between the three of them in a way it hadn't been for the last few months. James even started to make jokes and she thought that, perhaps, she could make things right between her siblings.

The castle steward came to fetch them after about an hour of them just enjoying each other's company. They went to the front steps and lined up accordingly, watching as the sleek black carriage carrying her fiancé flew into sight then rolled to a neat landing in front of them. Another carriage was just behind it, though it was open and not covered. It was apparent that the second one was used to carry his luggage as well as the goods he brought to Enchancia for trade.

The door to the covered carriage was opened and out stepped Prince Victor, looking a mixture of foreboding and handsome in his glowing black armor. He was followed by a younger man, though he didn't appear to be wearing armor, but a regalia that one might find a prince in. The younger man had similar dark tone skin to Victor, he had long black hair pulled back neatly in a little tail at the nape of his neck. When she spied at his features she was struck by just how much he looked like Victor. His features were definitely younger and he wasn't sporting any facial hair, but the structure of his face was the same.

Was this his son?

"King Rolland!" Victor started cheerily, pausing to offer him a bow before the two men clasped hands for a hearty shake. "How is Enchancia? I see your lovely family look well."

"Enchancia is great," her father responded, chuckling as he gave the other man's shoulder a solid pat. "And Nigrum?" He peered around him and gave the younger man a curious look, "Who have you brought with you?"

"Nigrum is doing well! And this," Victor waved the young man forward. "This is my nephew Zachary."

The youth offered her father a deep, respectful bow before standing straight, "It is a pleasure to meet you, your Highness."

"Your nephew? The boy looks like a carbon copy of you," her father observed, because it was hard to ignore.

"Ah, yes, he was fortunate that my good looks are something that is hereditary, I've been trying to talk the boy into growing a beard but I'm assuming it doesn't appeal to him," he answered with a chuckle, releasing her father's hand. "I think I am looking for sympathy in the wrong place though, seeing as you are also clean shaven."

"Ah," she watched as her father rubbed his chin as if in contemplation. "I do have to say I see the appeal to a beard, I've been toying with the idea of growing one myself."

"I don't know that it would be a good idea, dear," her mother spoke up, putting herself into the conversation. She offered Victor and his nephew a curtsey. "Welcome back to Enchancia, Prince Victor. And, Zachary, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Zachary, this lovely creatures is Queen Miranda," Victor bowed to her politely. "She is also responsible for the lovely girls before you. A crown jewel is what I would really refer to her as," he gave her a wolfish smile.

The younger man bowed as well, his crimson eyes wide as he took in her mother's beauty then went on to look at her and her siblings, "Enchanica is gifted with a beauty that they get to call Queen. The pleasure is mine, I assure you." They went down the line to greet and meet each of them and when they both stopped before her the younger man took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "I have heard great tales of your beauty, Princess Sofia," his voice was low and there was something familiar about it that she just couldn't place.

"Don't be too forward, boy," his uncle gave his shoulder a nudge. "You are unfortunately late to meet the lovely princess of Enchanica. Both are claimed and promised to other men. This one in particular is mine," he smiled at her and inclined his head towards her. "My princess, I hope that you and I will have a moment to talk before too long."

"You usually know where to find me," she tried to offer him a smile. She wasn't sure it was believable.

A curious look crossed his features and she watched as his nostrils flared, as if he were scenting the air as an animal might. His brows rose and he gave her a nod, though he didn't speak further on it. "I don't suppose we are too late for lunch, are we?" He turned to look at her father, who had been watching with interest.

"We scheduled it late today in anticipation for your arrival," he said turning to direct them into the castle. "Your men know where to put everything, right?"

"We have been here often enough that I won't be surprised if they start thinking of Enchancia as a second home," Victor turned, his hand coming to rest on her lower back as he directed her to follow the rest of her family. His nephew trailed behind them and she found herself glancing over her shoulder at him. He couldn't be that much older than her. He offered her a smile as he caught her looks. He wasn't going to help banish her curiosity.

They made their way to the dining room and she was set across the table from her family and between the two foreign men. Victor politely pulled out her seat for her and then pushed it beneath the table after she sat. "You arrived sooner than I anticipated," she felt the need to remark. "You were vague on just when you intended to get here."

"Oh so you got my letter?" He didn't sound offended, but there was a certain tone to his voice that made her aware that he knew she had gotten it and was offended she didn't answer. "I wondered, you so suddenly went quiet I wasn't sure if something had happened or not. You should consider yourself lucky that I gave you a warning as a promised considering the cold shoulder that you were suddenly giving me." He even went as far as to stick out his bottom lip as if to pout, "I had been enjoying the exchange of letters with you."

"I wasn't," her father joked. "You two made poor Baileywick work harder than any postman."

"Don't hold a grudge, Prince Victor," her sister spoke up for her as she sat down next to their brother. "I made sure to keep her thoroughly distracted with wedding plans. If she has any excuse to not have written you in return you can surely blame me for keeping her busy."

"Hurt feelings forgiven then," he raised a glass of water to her sister.

She shot Amber a look, they both knew her excuse wasn't true but she was still grateful for it. Amber offered her a wink in return, her stepping up for her would come at a cost. She would be willing to pay it for that save. "What made you bring Zachary with you?" She asked, looking at the young man beside her, "this is the first time we've met someone from your family. I thought your sister and you were at odds with each other? You said he was your nephew?"

"As I am sure you are aware," he looked at her and she could see her father's curious expression as he listened to the answer as well. "When it comes to siblings there can be times of peace and times of war. Zachary came to stay with me when he was younger. And I've kept him in my care of quite some time."

"My father," Zachary offered, "Is unfortunately no longer with us. So, my mother thought it was important that I have a man's influence and sent me to live my uncle. Their frequent squabbles aside, he's not holding me against my will. He's served as a great father figure."

"That is good to hear," her father commented then turned the direction of the conversation onto other things.

She spent the rest of lunch pick at her salad and trying to not think too much on Zachary's choice of words. Victor had admittedly been promiscuous. It was feasible. Though, she didn't want to call out her theory at the table. She took turns eyeing both men, comparing the similarities. It was as her father said. Zachary was a carbon copy of Victor.

She learned, while listening, that he had brought his nephew along to act as his best man. He offered Amber reign over his guardsmen to fill any part that may be needed. He promised to have them garbed in regalia similar to that of the suit he had wore for the ball. It pleased her to no end.

They finished their meals and started to part ways. The castle steward went to show Zachary the room he would be occupying and Victor when to join her father for a chat in his study. Unsure what to do, she followed her siblings, wondering if they would want to do their promised chat now. When they ventured down the hallway that led to their rooms and started to part ways she stopped confused, "Are you not going to talk?"

"I want to have a clear mind when I broach such a serious conversation," Amber started. "It came to my attention that given my current state that my emotions aren't as controlled as I would like them to be." She stood at her doorway, "So, give me the rest of the week. I would like you to mediate, if you will please, Sofia."

"Mediate?" She winced. She should have known she would ask something like that.

"Actually that's a good idea," James interjected. "That way you can make sure she stays reasonable."

"I intend to remain reasonable," Amber snapped.

"Fine," she rubbed at her temple. "I'll mediate. However, finding a time for me to do so is going to be hard with Victor here. We're probably going to have to stay up late to do this." She heaved a sigh, "When?"

"A week," Amber repeated.

"Fine," she sighed. "A week from today. I'm going to say at nine."

"I'll be there," James said cheerily, seeming to like the idea of having a chance to talk it out.

"As will I," their sister said. "I need to lay down. I will see you two at dinner." With that she went into her room and closed the door.

"Thanks, Sof," James lingered out in the hallway for a little.

"I know that she'll relent on some of the things that she's been set on doing," she said to him, moving to her own door. "She'll let you have your friend back to an extent."

"I just want my friend back," he looked down, his expression torn. "All the other things I can let go of."

"I'll see you at dinner, James," she gave him a sad smile and went into her room. She closed the door and leaned against it. What had she gotten herself into? Would she have been better off leaving her siblings troubles to themselves? With the way Amber was it was probably for the best. Also, her decision to wait until hormones weren't driving her feelings and she wasn't likely to spill all her torrid thoughts.

She sighed and flopped back onto her bed, burying her face into her pillow. She should wait for her fiancé, sure that the talk with her father would be a short one. But the clenching in her lower stomach and the piercing pain in her back made her decide to just fall back to her bed.

Evidently, she had dozed off.

A light tapping on her door brought her out of the sound sleep. She pushed herself up and spied twilight outside. She wince and sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. It hadn't been her intention to fall asleep. She stood and went to her door, opening it to be greeted by the sight of her fiancé looked mildly concerned, "Were you sleeping?"

"I hadn't meant to," she stepped aside to allow him in unconsciously. She wasn't sure where the thought was, but he had been in there often enough that it seemed fair enough to invite him in.

He stepped in, eyeing her curiously, and slid the door closed behind him. He didn't move to further enter her room, nor had he bothered to instigate anything. "Are you alright?"

She felt touched by his concern and she wasn't really sure why, she offered him a slight smile, "I'll be alright. I am just feeling a little puny that's all."

He hummed, closing the distance a little, "May we talk?"

She blinked at his courteous attitude suddenly, unsure where it was coming from. "Are you asking permission to talk?"

"I've always been a gentleman," he said with a note of complaint in his voice. "Just because I have a tendency to forget myself around you doesn't make me any less of one."

She chuckled and gestured to the small dinette that was in her room, moving to sit down at it. "What did you want to talk about?" Though she had an idea.

He came to join her, eyeing her speculatively as he sat. "Your sister did provide sound reasoning for you. But, something tells me that isn't the only reason. Have I offended you in some way?"

"You mean outside of your forward and presumptuous behavior?"

"Well, of course," he snorted cupping his chin in his hand and resting his elbow on the little table. "I've not tried to hide the fact that I've been seducing you since you agreed to be my bride." He looked uneasy, "But, you went from bantering with me on paper to silence. There has to be more to it than being busy with wedding plans."

She wasn't sure how to broach the subject with him. Her sorcerer had made her feel foolish with the idea of it, she wasn't sure how he would react. "You bit me and you had me bite you," she started feeling uneasy.

His brows drew together and he looked curious as to where she was going with it, "I am yours and you are mine."

"The book you gave me," she started again, looking away from him and not wanting to see what he thought of her. "It says that is a custom that dragons also use to mark their consorts."

"Are... are you insinuating that I'm a dragon?"

She looked at him, he didn't look offended or as if he were laughing at her. If anything he looked surprised. "Are you?"

"I am just what I appear to be," he said, she was struck by the fact that he didn't appear angry with her. "I suppose I could see why you would get the thought into your head. What we did isn't necessary common in fair company. But, if I may explain?" She nodded, giving him her undivided attention, "When your people spend centuries aligned with creatures or other peoples there can be times when their cultures can combine or mix. Suddenly, you'll find your people taking on things that your allies do. You can understand that, right?"

"I can, but," she hazarded forward. "How would you adopt a means of well... binding like that?"

"Let's just say that dragons can be exhibitionist," he gave her a smile. "Does that clear that up?" She nodded and he reached across the table offering her his other hand, "I do not want you to be afraid of me. I have already made the promise that I won't hurt you, haven't I?"

Unsteadily, she put her hand into his. He started to stroke his thumb against the back of her hand. "You seem to be awful understanding, I guess I'm grateful that you weren't offended."

"Flattered," he chuckled at her. "That is what I am, though I suppose I should be worried that you would fear me like that."

"I'll try not to be afraid," she said cautiously. "But, I am confused that you are in the privacy of my room and not being forward. Were you so upset by the fact that I stopped writing you that you decided to become chaste?"

That got a snort of laughter from him and he stood, stepping around the little table between them he looked down at her. "Hardly," he pulled her to her feet. "I offered to fetch you for dinner. That is why I came to your room. The reason why I am keeping my hands to myself?" She eyed him curiously, even as he pulled her closer. "Let us just say," his smile turned a little self deprecating. "I have a very sensitive nose." She flushed and started to pull away, getting his implication. Only he kept ahold of her hand, "Don't be ashamed of it. It's a natural thing. And the timing couldn't be better."

"That's one way to put it," she grumbled and started to lead them towards her door.

"If it makes you feel better," there was a bit of humor in his voice. "I promise to behave myself. Only throughout the duration of course."

"How kind of you," she couldn't hide the sarcasm from her voice and it only got another laugh from him. She led the both of them to the dinner table to join her family. Dinner was pleasant in a way it hadn't been in quite some time. James' attitude had improved so much that he was having an open conversation with Zachary about bits and pieces of their kingdom. The other boy, and she assumed that they were close in the same age, spoke animatedly with her brother.

She was comfortable, for once. It was easy to let go of her fears in favor of enjoying the atmosphere. Once dinner ended, her fiancé and father went to his study for a drink. James offered to show Zachary about the castle and the other man heartily agreed. It left her and her sister alone with their mother. "I'm happy to see that you and James are no longer at each other's throats, Amber," she commented as she stood from her chair. "I hope that whatever had you two so angry with each other is something that the two of you are mature enough to let go of."

"I can be very forgiving, mother, you don't have to worry," Amber smiled, as always the pleasing princess. "Come, Sofia," she beckoned. "Let's walk to our rooms together."

"Alright," she stood, going around the table to give her mother a hug then waited for Amber to do the same, in her own way.

They walked together to the door and Amber hooked her arm around hers. "It took him a while to fetch you, he didn't try to have his way with you again. Did he?" There was something on her face that was telling about how she felt about the idea.

"No, we talked a little. Turns out he didn't believe your excuse of keeping me busy," she confided.

"And here I thought it was a sound excuse, that tells me that I am just going to have to make sure that I keep you busy," she sighed in disappointment. "Of course, he's a man and doesn't understand the painstaking details that comes with planning a wedding."

"Well," they stopped outside her door and Amber took a moment to look unsure. "I hope you don't mind me asking you to mediate a conversation between James and I. I... I really don't want him to know about what I told you. I'm afraid of what he might think. Or say for that matter."

"I won't bring it up, but if you're going to make me sit through the conversation I do intend to make sure that you are at least fair with him. Remember what we talked about before, right? How he could get Zandar to make it so you couldn't be around Hilde anymore?" She pulled her arm out of her sister's grasp. "You have to be willing to compromise."

"I'll remember. I'll take the time we set aside to get my thoughts straight and remember to be reasonable," she smiled at her. "I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Amber," she went to her door and opened it, suddenly glad to be back in her room. How did she always manage to get herself caught up in the oddest of things? She made quick work of changing into her night gown, changing her bloomers, and falling back into her bed. She shouldn't be so tired not after that unintentional nap she just took.

But, her bed was comfortable and her body ached. It was hard to resist the urge to relax. She wasn't sure how long she laid in her bed, but she sat up when she heard her door slide open. Victor stepped in and closed it behind him. "But," she was awake now, sitting up. "I thought you knew I was... I thought you said you were going to behave."

He put a finger to his lips and went about locking and securing her door closed. He came to the opposite side of the bed from her, setting the candlestick on the bedside table before he blew it out. He crawled onto the bed, not bothering to get beneath the blankets with her, and settled down beside her. "The last time I was here," he slid an arm beneath the blankets and pressed his hot hand against the small of her back. "I fell asleep here," he other hand went beneath the blankets to rest on the lower part of her stomach. "I can't remember the last time I slept so well."

She settled, the warmth radiating from his hands seemed to ease the discomfort. "That's why you are here?" She had been facing away from him and she found herself leaning back against him as she relaxed.

"One of the reasons," he pressed his cheek against hers. "I have a tendency to run hot, I thought perhaps I could offer some sort of aid to you." The hand on her stomach slipped beneath the waist of her bloomers, "I enjoy touching you, though I did promise to behave. So, I will resist out and out molesting you." He brushed his lips against her cheek, "Unless you want to chase me out?"

"What if you are caught in here?"

"I promise to sneak out before dawn," he assured her. "Rest, my princess." She sighed and settled into him. He kept his promise, though his fingers would idly draw patterns on her skin.

She had his heat at her back, penetrating the blankets and making it stifling. She shoved the blankets down and he gave her some assistance. They settled back together, him wrapped around her. It became apparent, not long after that, that he had fallen asleep. His breaths were even, his hands would twitch but didn't stray.

She felt comfortable, for once, around him. She was even found herself lulled to sleep. Listening to him breath.

* * *

I really see Amber as a narcissist. So, I totally think it would be feasible for her to be hung up on the one person that looks, almost, exactly like her. I will do my best to not explore it outside of the conversations held in this chapter purely because it kinda disturbs me. Really, this came out of nowhere and the character seemed to completely drive that conversation. I might be a little crazy. But, I totally didn't want to go down that road and while I might explore something of the Zandar/James oneshot. I'm going to try really, really hard to not put Amber in it. God knows, I totally don't want to make a Zandar sammich. I'm so going to hell, lemme just tell you that now.


	12. Chapter 12

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story is rated M for mature, meaning there is mature content ahead. Really if you got this far and skipped all the sexy scenes I have to applaud you. There's just a one small scene and the rest of it is gravy.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

I got stuck kind of in the middle of this and I hope that it's not really obvious. If you can spot the areas where I got stuck and had to force things along reward yourself with a cookie. But, yea... those spots I got stuck on are the reason why this one took so long to get out.

* * *

The week went on, they carried on as if things were normal. When he wasn't detained by her father, he would find reason to be around her. Whether it was just to be in her presence, as he claimed, or it was to have a conversation about the various things that had been going on. Her admission of her fear of him seemed to have intrigued him in a way she was unprepared for. He was curious how she would make the leap to think him a dragon.

But, there still seemed to be something amiss that she couldn't put her finger on. He had a way of either dodging a question by distracting her with something or merely shrugging it away. She often felt like, while they were having serious conversations, that he might be toying with her.

His nephew seemed to be enjoying the visit to Enchancia a great deal. He had connected with James. She often found herself watching them as they played dazzle ball. James was struggling to teach the other young man the rules and strategies to the game, while Zachary just couldn't seem to fathom how the ball would change midway through a throw or a move.

They kept the days busy and didn't really give her the opportunity to just rest or relax with the pains of her monthly visitor. She would often find herself getting short with her fiancé when he pressed her buttons over one thing or another. It didn't deter him in the least. She would see him smirk as if he enjoyed her ire. But, after dinner when the rest of the castle retired for the night, he would still sneak into her room. He would join her on the bed and curl around her like a cat. His hot hands would find the tender parts of her that ached and the heat would ease her pains. She was growing used to him sleeping in her bed.

When she would wake up alone she would be puzzled before realizing that, of course, he had to get back to his own bed before the rest of the castle woke up. She wasn't sure if he was trying to make her comfortable around him, sharing a bed with him, or if he was just trying to make her crave him more.

This particular evening she was on her side and he was behind her, his hands were wrapped about her hips. He had moved her gown up and out of his way and he was rubbing his thumbs into the small of her back. She leaned into it, though the pain was minimal because she was nearing the end of her cycle, she couldn't find the will to tell him he needn't do it. It felt good.

A craving of a different kind started to coil in her belly and she turned, just slightly so not to discourage the treatment he was giving her lower back. She met his gaze, which had turned curious at seeing her turn around. She closed the distance as much as she could, pressing her lips to his. He returned her kiss with fervor, working his way past her lips and groaning lowly at the taste of her. One of his hands, unfortunately, stopped only to move up her form beneath her nightgown to cup her breast. The other pulled her rump backwards against his hips so that she could feel his excitement.

She didn't discourage him, she just kissed him with a growing hunger that he responded to. His mouth pulled away from hers, but he didn't stop. He moved to her jaw and then her ear. "The smell of blood still clings to you," he grumbled lowly against her ear. He gave the breast he had been toying with a light squeeze, "I have no qualms about continuing. But, if we do, we will make a mess of your bed."

"How can you smell it?" She winced, pulling away just a little. "I can barely smell it and it's coming from me."

"Sensitive nose," he buried his nose into her hair. "I can smell the lilacs you use to cleanse your hair and the underlying smell of your want for me," he growled, grinding his erection against her rump. She took a breath, her eyes drifting close as he started a new assault on her neck. She wanted him, she couldn't deny it not if he could smell it. "And the unfortunate smell of blood still lingers."

She didn't deflate, just tilted her head to the side as he went from her neck to her shoulder, moving her nightgown out of his way. "Are you making me this way?"

He paused in his assault, "Making you what way?"

She took a breath, keeping her eyes closed because she was afraid to broach the subject. "You're making me want you, making me crave these things and things that I don't even know about or understand. Are you doing this on purpose?"

He released her breast and turned her so that she was facing him, he pulled her flush to him. His arm was around her waist and one of his hands was on her rear, pushing her so close to him that she could feel the length of him against her lower stomach even through their clothing. "If you know of something that I can do to make you want me and let me have you to my hearts content I beg that you tell me," his voice was low and harsh and it stirred something in her. "I have done all that I know short of forcing myself on you fully to get you to want me. I have tried every feat that I know to drive you, to make your toes curl. Does it make you want me?"

He sounded near desperate and she wanted to deny him. She didn't want to want the handsome man holding her. "If you can smell my want for you, do you really need to ask me this?"

He didn't answer, but he kissed her again. It was long and hungry, he started to shift her onto her back and she had to pull her mouth from his. "I don't want to make a mess of my bed," she panted.

He growled against her cheek, "It would make your cramps go away."

She shivered, unsure if it was fear or not, "No. You said you would behave yourself."

He growled again and flopped back down beside her. He heaved a sigh of defeat, "I'm damning myself for making that promise." He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him, "I have every intention of taking as much as I can once mother nature is done with you. Be prepared."

"Are you going to be able to sleep?"

"I will be able to," he smiled at her, stroking his hand through her hair. "My desire for you aside, there is something comforting about you that I can't put my finger on," he started to look relaxed. "Like you soothe the savage beast that I am," he waggled his eyebrows at her, perhaps touching on the fact that she had thought him a dragon.

She snorted, settling her head upon his shoulder. "Just remember, you are behaving," she gave him a stern look as if she expect him to go back on his word as soon as she fell asleep.

"Aye, my princess," his eyes closed, though he smirked. "For now. I'll behave."

She woke the next morning alone, unperturbed by the idea he had placed in her head. The day continued as it should, though there was various talks from her sister about the last things that needed to be done. She was down to two weeks before her 'big day.' She could feel her heart sinking into her stomach and tried her best to not let it show on her face.

She didn't get the opportunities that she wanted to spend with her sorcerer, not with Victor in the castle. Any chance she did venture to his tower her visits were usually brief. It was apparent to her, that he wasn't pleased with the day she would leave drawing nearer. "I'm surprised to see you at all," he said snidely when he opened the door for her. "You have done nothing but give me the cold shoulder. Why should I invite you in?"

"I'm not giving you the cold shoulder intentionally," she frowned at him. "You know I would be here and in your way if I could. We have guests," she looked down at the stone floor that made up his tower. "I have to help keep them entertained."

"They aren't asking for magical entertainment, are they?"

"No," she assured him. "But dad is having a meeting with Victor. I thought I would come apologize for not giving you the appropriate amount of attention you deserve."

He stepped aside and motioned for her to come in, his expression showing that her flattery did her no good. "Tell me why I should be swayed," he closed the door behind her and went to sulk at his work table. "What did you want?"

"I missed you," she trailed after him, she spied the plain leather journal and opened it. Seeing the first message he wrote in it then the smudged admission below it. "I'm sorry," she said weakly. "I can leave if you would prefer," she couldn't look at him.

"No," he sounded disgruntled. "We're on borrowed time, unless you are here to tell me you've changed your mind?"

She closed his journal and glanced at him, "Could you think of a way that wouldn't result in you taking over the kingdom?"

"Does that really sound so horrible to you?"

"It would turn you into a villain," she said she leaned her hip against his work table. "You're not supposed to be a villain, you're supposed to be my hero."

He looked over his shoulder at her, "I am hardly a knight in shining armor. If that is what you are looking for then I can point you in the direction of the armory or the knight's quarters."

She smiled and came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "But I don't want a knight in shining armor. I'd prefer a sorcerer in purple robes." She propped her chin onto his shoulder and sighed, "If you could think of a way to make me less appealing that might be helpful."

"I don't think there's a spell that I could cast on you that would make you any less beautiful," he grumbled as he relaxed against her. "It would be a crime for me to and if your father found out about it he'd have my head." He did appear to be thinking, "What was his excuse for wanting you?"

"One of the things he said he wanted was children," she offered with a grimace.

He rubbed his chin as he thought, looking ahead at apparently nothing. She didn't mind, she took advantage of the fact that he was allowing her to hug him without complaint. She pressed a kiss against his cheek, "I suppose we could concoct a potion that would make you infertile. Though if all he wanted to do is lay with you it may not do anything to hamper the deal. But, if I were to make the potion and you were to take it. You wouldn't be able to have children. Whether they be his or anyone else's for that matter."

That was an idea, she stood straight as she considered it. She didn't entirely let go of him, her hands remained on his shoulders as she considered the idea, "How long would it take for him to discover I couldn't have children though? That would mean I would still marry him and go to his country. It wouldn't entirely get me out of this situation."

He hummed him head, unconsciously it seemed, rested back against her breast and he looked up at her. "You are right about that. It's likely it could take months even years before he would realize that you wouldn't produce a child for him, if that's all he truly wanted. And say that it is, would you really want to sacrifice the ability to have children? I can only imagine the mother you would be. Do you want to give that up?"

She winced as she looked down at him, "I'm not ready to have children right now. This would be a decision that I would prefer to have to make several years down the road. But, I am not able to make this decision myself."

"If you were able to make your own choices," he looked up at her curiously, seeming quite content with their current position. "What would you prefer to do?"

She smiled down at him, "Stay up here with you and do magic and go on adventures."

"I hardly go on adventures," he complained. "If I have ever gone on anything that would be considered an adventure it was because you dragged me along."

"Is there a potion that would make infertility temporary?"

He looked thoughtful, "I can look to see, though we are definitely on borrowed time. I will see what I can find and I will let you know via the book if there's anything we can entertain."

"It's an idea, it's a better idea than you taking the crown and starting a war with a man with dragons at his disposal."

He snorted and sat forward, pulling away from her, "Yes, you giving up the ability to reproduce is a much better idea." It was hard to miss the sarcasm, he was laying it on so thickly. "And I told you before, with the Amulet if you were to give it to me, the dragons would be nothing for you to be concerned with."

"But if your plan fails you are more likely to be hurt," she stepped around him so that she could get a better look at him. "If you attempt to take the crown and fail... what will happen?"

"Your confidence in me is shining," he griped.

"It's not that I don't think you are capable," she treaded carefully. "But this is a risk I would just rather not take. You are too important and if something like this were to fail … I don't want to think of the consequences."

"But you are willing to sacrifice your chances of being a parent? Especially when you would be such a wonderful mother?"

"Do you want children?"

He looked at her, eyes wide. He hadn't expected the question being shot back at him. He drug his hands through his hair as he struggled to find an answer, "If this were even possible? My only concern is you, girl."

She smiled at him, "See what you can find? Let me know." She leaned down to kiss his cheek, but lingered. "I saw it, I know you know that I saw it," her voice was low, even though they were the only ones in the room.

"I shouldn't-"

"I love you," she interrupted him, knowing he what he was going to say. "No matter what happens, no matter where I end up. Remember that I love you, you have my heart. You always have."

He met her gaze, his brows drawn together. "It pains me to hear it, I thought I would feel overjoyed to hear you admit your love for me. All I can think of is how you will marry another man and there is nothing I can do to stop it. There is nothing you will let me do to stop it. If you love me, choose me. Let me save you and take you away from this!" His voice was thick with emotion and he gripped her shoulders as he looked at her. "Damn the consequences, Sofia!"

"Don't you realize what would happen?" She shot back at him, "If we ran away together they would know. Immediately, they would know you were responsible! Do you think your parents would keep us safe? Your mother might, but your father is still so loyal to Enchancia that he would rat us out. What would happen then?" He started to speak again, but she stomped her foot and interrupted him again. "If you tried to take the crown, even with my Amulet you wouldn't just be contending with my father and Victor. You would be contending with all of Enchancia and even her allies! There's so much that could go wrong, there would be no happy ending either way."

"And there's a happy ending by letting you trot off to beyond the Black Mountains to Merlin knows where?" He stepped forward, there was little distance between them and she found herself distinctly aware of it. "What of the last princess that went to his kingdom, Sofia? What happened to that girl? Do you think she had a happy ending?"

Her brows drew together, she had forgotten about Rudistan's lost princess. "I didn't think you were paying that close attention to the seance..."

"Close enough attention to know whatever ended the girl left her in such turmoil that she nearly produced a banshee." His voice had risen as he had barked out his questions to her and suddenly it was low again, "Please, there has to be another way than sacrificing you or your chances of being a mother."

"If you think of a way that won't lead to a war or your death or imprisonment feel free to offer the ideas to me," she said irritably. "I am out of them."

He cursed and looked pained as he gazed down at her, "I will look for a potion for you. Anything I can think of I will put in the book." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her forward. He hugged her tightly, his face so close to hers. Her heart hammered in her chest and she thought he may kiss her. How she wanted him to. "Two weeks is all that I have left to try to save you," he said sadly, "If I fail at this I am not just losing my friend."

"You won't be losing me," she stated stubbornly.

"Who are you telling that to? Who do you expect to believe you?" He grumped, he eventually released her and sat heavily on his chair. "Are you trying to reassure me or yourself?" She winced and looked away, because she didn't have an answer. "Like I thought," he sniped. "Go back to entertaining your guests. You've given me more work to do."

She tried not to let his words hurt her, knowing he was angry and hurt in his own right. She turned from him and went to the door. "I'm sorry," was all she could think to say and she was out the door.

She went down the winding staircase to exit out into the garden. She could feel the tears welling up and her throat burning. But, she didn't want to cry. She didn't have the luxury. She agreed to meet Victor out on the balcony that overlooked the garden's maze, she was intent on doing so without wearing her emotions on her sleeve as she often did. She approached the balcony from below, able to see him seated on a bench apparently enjoying a breeze. Then she spotted his nephew approaching and she hesitated.

"How much longer do you intend for us to stay here?"

"Are you not enjoying yourself? I see that you have become quite taken with the prince, I watched the two of you kicking around a ball the other day. Technically speaking you are close to being the same age, I would think that the two of you could relate with one another," she heard Victor snort and she could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "Unless you are taken with him in an entirely different sort of way."

"I am enjoying myself," Zachary snapped, "And I enjoy James, but not in way that you are insinuating. He seems genuine and accepted me without question. These people are nice and welcoming. We could maintain an alliance with them."

"We could," Victor sounded agreeable. "It would make the dry seasons incredibly easy to go through with concerns for the lesser races."

"That's not what you intend to do?" She heard the younger man make a disgruntled noise, "There are others that do this and maintain alliances around the world. Even in secret. Why can't we?"

"Are you becoming attached? You've only been here a week, if you are attached to them perhaps it was a mistake that I brought you along."

"Are you becoming attached?" Was shot back at him, "I smell the girl and she is nowhere in sight. Her scent clings to you and you haven't bedded her yet. I see the way you look at her and I can't tell if the looks are fabricated or real."

She saw the younger man approach the railing of the balcony and she suddenly became aware that she was eavesdropping on a conversation that they probably wouldn't want her to hear. She shifted back as far as she could, striving to stay out of sight. She wanted to know what was being said and what was planned.

"I enjoy her," she heard Victor admit without hesitation. "I find that I have underestimated her intelligence on so many levels it's almost embarrassing." She heard him chuckle, "She is so close to connecting the dots, I fear that she may do so and try to expose me before we are wed. It has been quite an effort to keep her distracted. An enjoyable effort, though."

"That's what you get for giving her that book," the younger man said sarcastically. "I don't understand how they can underestimate their females."

"Some appear to be content in doing nothing but being beautiful. This would be easier if Amber had been the one that was available, or if I had taken the girl that had been offered before," he didn't sound as if he regretted the choices at all. "Things would be easier if I had taken the other girl, but they would be far less enjoyable."

"If she assisted in creating the reservoir what are the chances that she or their royal mage are associated with the Kirin Tor?"

She didn't know what that was. Her brows drew together as she listened. "I have looked, there is no association that I know of or I could readily spot. I think we are far enough away from their influence that it shouldn't be a real concern." She heard a shift and she saw Victor start to approach the railing of the balcony as well. "If I can keep Sofia's suspicions at bay I think your worries are nothing but that. Worries."

Fearing being seen, she picked her amulet up and pulled the gem closer to her face. Whispering as lowly as she could she bid to it, "I wish to be small." She shrank to the size of a sprite and moved into the hedge, using it as a means of cover.

"Did you hear that?" Zachary suddenly said, voice on edge. Apparently, she hadn't been quiet enough. Sensitive noses and ears? Did she not stand a chance to sneak around these men? She heard a thud on the grass in front of the hedge that hid her. She saw boots and she covered her mouth, fearing being found. "There's no one here. But, I know I heard a voice!"

"Yes, let us both be fools and go jumping off the second floor balcony!" She heard Victor snap, "Let's show off! Fool boy, get back up here and check the windows to make sure no one saw you leaping down there." There was a growl, one she knew Victor was making, that couldn't have come from a man. "If you were seen I will have your hide covering the flagstones in Maloriak's laboratory."

"Yes, sire," the young man sounded thoroughly chastised, even fearful of the other man.

She watched as his boots moved out of view. As soon as he was out of sight she started moving, quickly, through the hedge. She tried her best to make as little noise as possible, but her heart was fluttering in her chest and she couldn't help the adrenaline pumping through her. Had she been right? No, she shook her head as she cleared the hedge. She peered up at the balcony to see if there was anyone looking over the edge. Victor stood there at the railing, but he didn't seem to be concerned with looking for the voice Zachary had heard.

Her idea had been a silly one, that hadn't held much merit to it. But, she carefully followed the line of the building, pausing to look back to make sure she hadn't been spotted. Once she was out of view of the balcony she gripped her amulet, "I wish to be big."

At her normal size, she panted. The distance had been an effort to achieve at the small size. Listening to the conversation though, even if she knew it was wrong, had did nothing but feed her fears. What were they? And what were they after? She found her way back into the castle, knowing she had to meet her fiancé, she drug her feet as she tried to tease out the meaning of the conversation she had heard. He had mentioned lesser races, it hadn't been the first time she had heard that word. It was evident that they weren't human. But what could they be?

She didn't want to meet them on the balcony, but she had been charged with it. It was her responsibility to see to the man she was due to marry. She fanned herself with her hands, having built up a sweat as she fled as a sprite. She hoped, when she met Victor that he wouldn't suspect her. She paused at a mirror in the hallway, fixing her appearance and trying to school her expression. She didn't want to expose herself from what she had heard.

She looked at herself in the mirror and she grimaced. She would be caught, she was so transparent. A deep breath and she fought to focus on something else, it was a struggle. She forged out to meet the two men on the balcony. Victor was still at the railing, leaning back against it and turning when he heard her approach. Zachary on the other hand was on the opposite side of the balcony, seeming contemplating the architecture of the castle. "My princess," her fiancé gained her attention and smiled at the sight of her. "It's a pleasure to see you, I'm sorry I wasn't able to entertain you at the start of the morning."

"It's alright," she said unsteadily, trying to keep the quiver out of her voice. "Amber has plans for me for the coming weeks. So I hope that you will understand when I am not available to keep you entertained."

"Ah yes," he nodded. "I suppose it's time to start pulling it all together. Finish up those last minute details."

"I was hoping," she started then stumbled. If she knew there was something off about him, would her friends know? She cleared her throat and started again, "I was hoping that you would be able to join me and my friends from the village for lunch tomorrow? They are eager to meet you."

"Really?" He looked interested, "The prospect of meeting your friends sounds entertaining. Would you mind if Zachary were to tag along?"

The younger man came up to stand beside her, looking noticeably uncomfortable. She eyed him and forced a smile, "Not at all. I'm sure Ruby and Jade will enjoy your company as well."

He smiled weakly at her in return, "It sounds like fun."

"Did you have a preference of what you would like to do now?" She found herself fidgeting with the embellishments on her gown.

"James started to show me the art in the castle, though, I will admit that he quickly got bored with it and we found something else to entertain ourselves with. However, the few pieces he did show me were lovely. Perhaps we could start there?" He must have sensed her discomfort, because the younger man's offering seemed easy enough.

"Yes, it sounds as if my nephew has seen more of the castle than I have, let us take a good tour and see the art," Victor agreed.

They took the next few hours walking around the halls of the castle, viewing the various paintings that had been collected and displayed on the walls. She did her best to clarify their origins and which of Enchancia's kings had collected the piece. The vast majority of the works that occupied the castle had been collected by a not so recent ancestor of her father. Each king had their own hobby or thing that they loved. King Richard the Second enjoyed romantic scenes and there were many that decorated the castle's walls.

Per usual, there was a hallway that was decorated with paintings of kings past. She went as far down the line as she could remember, which went back a few generations, before she came to a painting where she struggled to remember the king's name. It was there. On the tip of her tongue, before she got disgruntled and spied the card that designated the name just below the ornate frame. "King Edward," she stated with a huff. "I should have been able to remember that."

"Why would you say that? The fact that you remembered the monarchs from the last three centuries is impressive alone," Zachary complimented, though, after giving the hall way a cautionary look he leaned closer to her. "Your brother couldn't remember past your grandfather."

They continued through the hallways before James joined them, pitching the idea of going for a ride around the derby track. Victor look apprehensive, much to the delight of his nephew, "I'm not looking forward to falling off a horse again." At the snort of laughter from the younger man, he glowered, "But, I will very much enjoy watching you fall off a horse, boy. Carry on. I will watch."

She went and changed, James agreed to lead the other men out to the stables and then the course. They had managed to get Victor back onto a flying horse as well as Zachary, the younger man getting the hang of riding the flying horse quicker than his uncle. Victor managed to stay on though and he didn't fancy any sort of racing that younger three of them did. It gave her a bit of a free feeling.

They had spent the remainder of the day there, until the castle steward sent for them. It had taken them too long to restable the horses that she and James decided to forgo changing from their riding gear. Her father looked on with disapproval at her and her brother, but Victor waved it away. "I see no harm in it," he smiled at her father. "There's something quite becoming of a woman in trousers. Eventually the rest of the world will come to agree with me."

"Did she manage to get you on a horse again?" Her father asked with a bit of humor in his tone, sounding as if he forgave the implications her fiancé made.

"We both go on them," his nephew answered excitedly. "He didn't want to, but after some poking on my part we were able to get him on the horse. He didn't fall off, neither did I but I came close." He spoke animatedly as he went on with the tale of their day, "There is something so freeing about actually riding the horse versus being in the carriage. I would much rather fly back to Nigrum that way than in the carriage."

"Unfortunately," Victor pointed out, "That would be much more difficult to do considering the rest of the party also has to be taken back." He watched as his nephew deflated at the news, but it didn't keep him from continuing on with the topic. James helped feed the other boy's eagerness and they agreed to hit the track again so that James could have a proper opportunity to show off.

After dinner they retired for the evening, she went to her room alone and had already started to changed into her nightgown when there was a knock at her door. She spied her clock, it wasn't quite nine. Amber and James were due soon to discuss how to come to some sort of reasonable agreement between them. And to mend their relationship as siblings. She wasn't entirely keen on sitting in on it, but she had agreed to see it through. Her time left in Enchancia was slowly dwindling away, it didn't feel right to leave with the two of them still cross with one another.

"Just a minute," she called, pulling her nightgown over her head. She took a moment to make sure that her bloomers were covered before she opened the door.

Victor was on the other side of the door and, before she could open her mouth to protest, he was in her room and on her. He had slid her door close and pressed her against the wall just inside her door. He kissed her hungrily and she struggled for a moment, having been caught off guard by his quick affections.

She managed to pry her mouth away from his, though he just trailed down her neck, "It's too early." She gasped as he hefted her up, propping her knees on either side of his hips and pressing between her thighs.

He hadn't even bothered to change into his night clothes, he must have come straight to her room. She wanted to protest and get him to stop, but one of his hands had drifted between them and he cupped her heat through her bloomers. "I have craved you since I last saw you," he groaned against her skin. "I could not wait to get a taste." His hand found its way into her bloomers and he started to stroke her, parting her lower lips to tease that button.

She tried to protest, she tried to pull away from him, but he had her pressed against the wall. When she leaned away from him it only gave him more access to her shoulder and upper chest. He exploited it, dragging his teeth along her skin and making her quake. "My siblings," she tried, it sounded hoarse and weak. She clutched at his shoulders and tried again, "It's too early!"

Apparently, he was ignoring her protests, because he forged ahead. He pressed his fingers into her and immediately began thrust them in and out of her. She keened, any hopes of interrupting the burning fire he stoked in her lost as she was swept away with the feelings.

She should have pause, she should be afraid. She shouldn't want this, but she clutched at him and rolled her hips against his hand. The conversation she overheard forgotten with the building need that started to well within her.

He managed her nightgown down so that he could entertain himself with her breasts. She was so engulfed and so close to a throbbing release that she almost didn't hear the shocked gasp. It didn't come from her. She opened her eyes, Victor hadn't stopped his affections. She spotted the door cracked open and then.

Her eyes connected with Amber's. "Sofia," she gasped again, though it wasn't as shrill as when she had caught James.

Victor froze, hearing her sister at last. He looked over his shoulder at her sibling, there was distinct surprise written on his face. "Have I damned us?"

She watched as Amber shook her head, "The door was ajar." She managed to gather herself, "Had anyone else happen by you might have."

He nodded, looking slightly embarrassed, "Close the door and I shall right her clothing." Amber slid the door closed the rest of the way and Victor took a moment to pull his fingers from her. She couldn't help but whimper, the throb was still there. "You said something," he slowly lowered her legs to the floor and started to right her nightgown, ensuring her breasts were covered. "I couldn't hear what you were trying to say."

"It's too early for this," she repeated, trying to calm the fire he had kindled. "My sister was coming to join me in my room."

He grimaced, "I wasn't thinking, if I had any thoughts they were coming from the wrong head." He gave her a light kiss, looking embarrassed, "I will see you later." He went to the door and opened it, peering out carefully. Her sister stepped forward back into the doorway and he seemed to be uneasy at the sight of her, "Forgive me for being-"

"Thoughtless? Reckless?" Amber interrupted. "How about careless? If I were the wrong person you might find yourself at in a bad position with our father."

"I'm aware," he said carefully.

"Now is not the time to be asking for forgiveness, not with you in her room and Sofia in her nightgown. Tomorrow," she opened the door wider so she could step it. "You'll have the proper opportunity to apologize for being caught."

She watched as Victor slipped past her sister, eyeing her cautiously. "Tomorrow then, good night ladies." He gave her a nod and she knew, she knew he would be back later tonight. Doing as he had been for the last week. With a last look up then down the hallway he turned to leave them, walking quickly out of sight.

Amber closed the door behind him and then sighed, turning to look at her. "That was careless," she chided.

"That was his doing, not mine," she released a shuddered breath. "I tried to tell him I was expecting you. He wasn't hearing me." She went to her window seat and sat down, trying to calm herself. "I didn't realize he left the door open, I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I saw that he had you pressed to the wall and he was kissing you somewhere other than your lips," her face was flushed as she spoke. "I couldn't see where he had his hands. But, from your expression I gathered they were in an intimate place." Amber joined her at the window seat, "He can't wait until the wedding night?"

She released a breath, "It seems that way." She looked to the clock on her wall, "You're early."

"You should be glad that I'm early," she sniffed in disdain. "It would have been a lot worse if I were Baileywick and you know it. I came early because I wanted to get some sort of order to my thoughts. But, well, that was dashed when I happened to walk by your door."

"I'm sorry," it was all she could offer.

"Well, remind me why we are having this little meeting again so I can gather myself," she adjusted her own nightgown and it was apparent it she was trying to gather her thoughts.

"You and James need to come to an agreement that settles the anger that you have between you. You're supposed to be close, you're twins. And I-I guess I can see where your... your infatuation with what you saw may be appalling, but even with that. You should be at least be able to make amends so you don't hate each other," she struggled still to wrap her mind around Amber's odd tastes.

"You really didn't need to mention that, Sofia," she huffed. "I don't need to be reminded about it." She pulled her legs up under herself as she shifted into a more comfortable position. "So, make amends. How would you suggest that I do that?"

"I can't imagine how they started doing … what they were doing, but maybe forgiveness is the best route. Especially if they have agreed to stop," she offered as she considered it. "I know it's hard, because it is a betrayal and you feel that you have to compete with James now. But, I don't know that you really have to compete. Zandar seemed to be fearful of what his parents would think or do if they found out."

"Do you think if I asked James for the details about it, like I asked you, he would tell me?"

"I don't know that I want to sit in on that conversation," she admitted.

"You're not even the least bit curious?"

She grimaced, "I don't want to be attracted to my brother."

"It does sound perverse when you put it like that," Amber complained. She huffed lightly and sighed, looking tired. "I can forgive him. I suppose I wish I had thought of it, though I highly doubt that Hilde would do anything similar like that with me. I feel like, out of the three of us, I'm the last one to actually do any of the sexual things. It doesn't seem fair."

"I would gladly trade places with you," she could only shrug her shoulder.

"I don't know if you saw the look he gave me," her sister grimaced. "When I interrupted you, I thought he might attack, you know. Like how a wild animal may attack another coming into its territory. It was … frightening."

"I didn't see it," she felt herself becoming concerned.

"It was a brief look, it flashed across his face. But, I saw it," she cleared her throat. "I didn't knock because the door was open. Literally when you saw me was just after I had first saw you. I assure you, I would not stand there and watch as he molested you."

"I believe you," she said uneasily. There was a knock at her door, giving the clock a glance she figured it could only be one person. She stood and went to her door, opening it for her brother. "You're late."

"Sorry," he shrugged nonchalantly, he had also changed into his own pajamas, a light linen button down with loose pants. He stepped into her room, "I see how Victor can be all intimidating and creepy, but Zachary is pretty awesome. He wants to see about using the flying horses for a flyover of the kingdom. We were talking about what there is to see. I guess I lost track of time." He picked up one of the chairs that was at her dinette set and took it the window seat where Amber was seated, he turned it then sat on it backwards. "So we're here to talk?"

"To come to an accord and find a way for us to be happy siblings once again," Amber offered.

James shot her a look as she came around him to join their sister on the window seat, "You have a good reason to be angry with one another and stay angry. But you're siblings. Twins, you shouldn't hold a grudge. You need to forgive each other."

"Trying to fix things before dark and creepy takes you away?"

"Are you seriously referring to her fiancé as that?"

"Are you seriously telling that it isn't an adequate description?" James snorted. "But, you can't deny that's what she's trying to do."

"It's just like Sofia," Amber agreed, offering her a smile. "She has to make sure everything is right in the world."

"We're not here to analyze me," she grimaced. "We're here to discuss how to fix your relationship. And really, I'm only here to mediate."

James sighed and leaned on the back of his chair, "How do we start?"

"I think forgiving each other is a good start," she offered, looking from Amber to James.

Amber grimaced and looked away from the both of them, "I forgive you, James. I will overlook the … the things that I caught you and Zandar doing to one another. On the condition that I can trust that it won't happen again."

She shot James a look and saw him staring at their sister. His expression was carefully blank, she could tell he was better at schooling his face so not to show his emotions than she was. So, how their sister's statement affected him was hard to tell. "Thanks," he said evenly. He looked uncomfortable, "It won't happen anymore. He's said that much to me and to you, before. It's important to him that he strives to make the effort with you. Not just to him, but his parents."

"I will stop hovering," Amber offered. "I know I haven't really been thoughtful of the fact that you two are friends. Dear friends. I realize that all of this has put a strain on your friendship and you should be able to work on that." She took a breath then let it out slowly, "I only ask that you respect the fact that he is betrothed to me and I will respect your friendship with him." She sounded so very professional, her eyebrows drew together as she studied her sister. How is it that these two were so good at keeping themselves in check? She was so transparent, her face was an open book to her emotions. How did they manage it so well?

James nodded is agreement, "I will do that."

She looked to their brother and wondered if she should push it. It would be for the best, wouldn't it? "Do you forgive her?"

"What do I need to be forgiven for?" Amber sounded insulted. "What did I do wrong?"

She waved a hand at her sister, wanting to give James an opportunity to talk. He grimaced as he seemed to consider it, looking down at his hands that clasped together on the back of the chair. "I guess," he said after a length. "I guess we kind of had it coming. I was always careless and it's not like she hadn't caught me before with my pants down." He sighed heavily and rested his chin on his hands, looking at the two of them, "I forgive you, I'm sorry I was angry and hated you for something you didn't really do. I know I brought it on myself."

She glanced at Amber and it appeared that she was touched for a moment before her haughty expression came back, "I fail to see what I need to be forgiven for."

"Consider it," she said carefully, "A matter of him forgiving his anger towards you. Not that you really did anything wrong. He was mad at you, forgiving you is just him saying that he's letting it go."

"Though really, knocking. I'm forgiving you for not knocking," he said with a hint of sarcasm to his tone.

"I knock," she shock back. "Really the only person I have ever walked in on without knocking is Sofia. And this time, it wasn't my fault at all, but Victor's."

"What did you walk in on?" He asked curiously.

"Wait," she sat forward. "Wait, we don't need to bring that up."

"Oh why not, Sofia," Amber said, looking at her nails. "You know all sorts of naught bits about James and me. Let's even out the playing field, shall we?" She smirked at their brother and she forged ahead, ignoring her protests. "I was walking down the hallway and I heard a noise coming from her room. The door was open and I looked in, Victor had her against the wall. I couldn't tell where his hands were and he was kissing her, just not on the mouth."

James blanched slightly and waved a hand, "You don't need to go into too much detail with that, Amber." He shook his head and grimaced, as if he were trying to shake away a mental image, "When was this? And really? You left the door open after she caught me?"

"It was earlier," Amber supplied, looking satisfied with herself.

She covered her face with her hands, not wanting to see her brother's disgust with her. "It wasn't my fault the door was left open. He practically jumped me when I opened my door and didn't bother to make sure he closed it all the way."

"Wow, that hard up, huh?" He sounded amused, "I guess I can understand that."

There was a scoff from their sister, "How is it that you aren't scandalized by this?"

He shrugged, nonchalantly, "I can't say that it's my business really. I mean I'm concerned. But, Amber, don't gossip about it."

"Oh I don't intend to," she said with a pout, giving her a look as if she were upset that their brother didn't give her a better reaction.

"Can we get off the subject of me? Really, I know it was disturbing what you saw, but... let's just not air out my dirty laundry," she glowered at her. "Unless you want all the laundry aired out."

Amber looked evenly at her, "That's not necessary."

"It must be something good," James snorted.

"It's not necessary that we talk about it," Amber smiled tightly, showing that she was uncomfortable with the attention now. "We're all forgiven and good now, right? Does that mean we are done?"

She only offered a shrug, "As long as we can go back, at least in some way, to the way things used to be. I don't expect it to be like it was before this happened. But, close."

There was a slight sigh and Amber eyed their brother with a bit of trepidation, "Are you still going to go through my friends?"

James grimaced and shot her a glare, "You told her that?"

"It was the only way I could really get her to listen to reason," she shrugged at him. "Besides, she and I share friends. It was a worrisome thought."

"Well," he flushed in embarrassment, "I'll be honest it occurred to me a few times. Not just now, but any time I've been really angry with you. I wouldn't know where to start and the easiest person I know would probably blab it to everyone if I was bad."

"And we all know just who he is referring to," Amber sighed. "Have we reached an accord?" She paused to yawn, "It's getting late."

"I guess," James shrugged. "We'll have to see if it goes beyond this talk though, I'm not going to hold my breath until I see you keeping your word."

"Well," their sister sniffed in disdain. "Considering that, I will be doing the same. I will hold up my end if you intend to hold up yours."

She started to interrupt, because she didn't want this to forge into an argument, but the door to her room slid open. Everyone grew quiet as they watched her fiancé step into her room, then slid her door shut. When he notice she wasn't alone, he merely eyed her siblings. With the a sigh he rubbed his hand along the length of his face then proceeded to tug at his beard, "Chronomu, if you are responsible with my impeccable timing I will have my revenge." It was growled low and she was sure they weren't meant to hear it.

"Who?" James asked in confusion. "What are you doing in here?"

He waved a hand, waving away the question as he walked the rest of the way into her room. He schooled his features to banish any discomfort that he might have felt at seeing her siblings in her room, "What is this? A meeting?"

"We were discussing a disagreement that they had and trying to find a way that could make them less … angry at one another," she offered. "You're early, again."

"Ah," he came to sit on the edge of her bed, "But, it's after eleven. I am not early."

James looked to her, since the other man didn't offer an answer to his question, "What is he doing here?"

"It should be obvious why he's here," Amber answered. "Really you should know better than to ask, James." He glared at their sister then turned to the man sitting on her bed and glowered as he awaited an answer.

"I've been sleeping with your sister," he said evenly then he raised a hand when it was apparent that there was going to be protest, "Just sleeping. I assure you I have not stolen her virtue. If you don't believe me you can ask her."

When all eyes turned to her, she flushed, wishing that this awkwardness hadn't come into the room and settled between them, "Yes, for the most part that is all he does."

"So this doesn't have anything to do with what you were doing earlier?" Amber asked, her gaze fixed on Victor.

He folded his arms over his chest, not at all looking phased by her sister's question. "While I may not be chaste with her, I do respect the conditions your father set to an extent. Since I arrived back in Enchancia would come in here when it appeared the rest of the castle had gone to bed and I would come crawl into her's."

"If not for sex, then why?" James asked and she wished she would meld into the shadows and not be privy to this conversation.

"It's one thing to enjoy a bed to yourself, being able to sleep at whatever angle without being hindered by another body," her fiancé answered carefully. "However, when you meet someone that you enjoy, having them lie next to you is more pleasant. You can enjoy the feel of their body against yours, even if it's clothed, and their scent."

"That makes it sound almost romantic," Amber observed. "You are tempting fate though by sneaking in here."

"I've been warned," he said dryly in response. "I usually lock the door."

"Well then," Amber stood and looked at their brother, "Stop acting like your are offended. If it bothered her, she wouldn't allow him in here." She gave his shoulder a sound smack as she walked by him. "We've been in here late enough and we've come to an agreement. Let's leave them be."

James stood, glowering at Victor as if he could intimidate the other man. He picked up his chair and took it to the dinette set putting it where it belonged. He kept giving him a dark look even though Victor sat patiently, harmlessly, on her bed. When her siblings walked out of the room and closed the door behind them, he stood and went around the bed to the opposite side. He took the time to pull the blankets back before he sat back down then laid back on her bed.

She watched in confusion. He hadn't bothered to get up to lock her door, he hadn't attempted to come to her to restart the assault he had begun on her before. He looked as if he were going to just go to bed. She stood from her place on the window seat and went to her door, locking it then standing on tiptoe to secure it up at the top. She turned back to him and saw that, instead of watching her, he had his eyes closed as if he intended to sleep.

"What are you doing?" She came to sit on the bed, watching him wearily.

"Trying to go to sleep," he kept his eyes closed and looked to be quite relaxed on her bed.

"But," she struggled to grasp for a way to ask him why he wouldn't be picking up where he had left her before. "That's all you're going to do?"

The corners of his mouth turned up and he peered at her, "I have been tempting fate for sometime by coming in here and teasing you. Today is the first time that I've become careless and gotten caught with my hand in the cookie jar, if you will." She flushed and it only seemed to add to his amusement, "If I were to try to pick up where I last left you I find myself wondering how much fate would allow me to get away with. Perhaps, it's for the best that we just sleep, hm?"

She lowered herself to lay down beside him, still watching him wearily, "That's all you want to do?"

"No," he turned onto his side and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "But, I would rather not see what else I could do to tempt fate further," he gave her a light kiss, seeming content to just lay beside her.

"You mentioned a Chronomu," she persisted, not quite ready to go to sleep. It was something that had quirked her curiosity.

"Mm," his eyes fluttered closed again and he seemed set on merely sleeping in her bed. "Chronomu is something of a nuisance. Or that is how I view her. You needn't worry about it, I doubt it would affect you in a negative way."

It wasn't an answer, but she settled down beside him. It was late and while her nerve endings still seemed to burn for him, the weariness of the day did tug her into something of a restless sleep.

The following day went by quickly, though she chalked that up to the fact that her friends were there with her. Usually the comfort of Ruby and Jade made her lose track of time. While they weren't children anymore and things had drifted away from play and into more mature things. She and Ruby had gone through great lengths to teach Jade to crochet and knit, as well as a little bit of cross stitch until the other girl lost her patience with it. Jade had pushed them into less ladylike ventures and the three of them had managed to master archery with only a little bit of effort.

They had arrived early, just after breakfast, with an eagerness to meet the man she was to marry. Unfortunately, her father had stole him away and they were left with his nephew for awkward entertainment. James stood beside him and kept Jade from picking too much at him. Both of her friends still harbored crushes on the prince, even though they knew that was all it would amount to.

"You're his nephew? But, you're our age," Jade said as she notched another arrow into her bow, they stood at the archery range practicing as they awaited lunch and an appearance from her fiancé.

"Yes, I am eighteen," Zachary answered.

Her brows drew together as she thought about it, "I thought Victor said his sister was five years younger than him."

Suddenly the younger man looked uncomfortable and he looked to be struggling with an explanation. Jade released the string and the arrow let loose, slicing through the air and burying itself deep into the target. It was off center, but so far the closest to the center of the target. "Damn," Jade cursed and offered her the bow. "See if you can beat it. I know you got a better aim than James does."

"You're picking up bad habits," Ruby commented from the bench where she watched. She had already made her attempt and her arrow had gone too low, sticking up from the ground just below the target.

Distracted, not just by her friend's decision to use colorful language, but by the bow she held. They had made a competition with her brother and Zachary to see who could actually hit the bullseye on the target. So far, Jade had come closest. James and Zachary had yet to take their turn. She notched an arrow and took a breath, centering her gaze on the target. She tried to clear her mind, but the information she had just processed continued to nag her.

If Victor's sister had Zachary and she were five years younger than Victor that would have placed her at eight when she had him. She grimaced as she released the arrow and watched with irritation as it struck the target, way off course. It was to the right of the bullseye barely managing to strike it. She usually had better aim than that, "Damn."

James snorted and took the bow from her, "What were you saying Jade?" She stepped away and went to sit and watch as her brother readied an arrow and took aim.

"You're picking up bad habits, too," Ruby scolded with a bit of amusement.

Jade came to join them after watching James release the arrow and the arrow strike the target. He had come closer to hitting the bullseye than she did, however it still appeared that Jade would win their little game. "Did we decide what the winner got out of this?" She sounded amused as she plopped down on the bench with them. "Last chance there, Zach. See if you can beat me!"

Ruby reached around her to nudge their friend's shoulder, trying to suppress a smile. It was hard to tell if Jade was flirting or if she was seriously with her competitive nature. "Could you be more obvious with your flirting, Jade?"

Jade shot her a glare, before turning to watch the other boy notch an arrow and take aim. The three of them watched as he released the arrow and it sliced through the air. It struck target with a loud thud and she could feel Jade tense in anger beside her, she hated to lose. He had managed to hit the target dead center.

James cheered and clapped the other boy on the shoulder, turning back to the three of them with a broad grin. "So, what does the winner get?"

"The question I have," Zachary asked as he turned to look at the three of them. "If I do get a prize do I collect it from all of them or just the one?"

"The question I have," Jade sounded snide as she spoke. "If you are going to collect something like a kiss from the each of us, are you going to collect it from James, too?"

Both boys blanched and gave each other a look before Zachary grimaced, "No prize then. Shall we have another go at it?"

"Have another go at what?" Victor asked as he came out onto the field where they were shooting arrows. "I have been looking for you everywhere. The steward was kind enough to point me out this way."

"We were having a competition as to who could get closest to the bullseye," Zachary offered with a broad grin. "I won."

She stood, Ruby and Jade moving to stand on either side of her. Ruby looked at her fiancé curiously while Jade could offer him nothing but glares, "It was something to occupy the time while we waited for you to join us." She stepped forward to meet him, turning to her friends as she gestured to him. "Prince Victor these are my best friends, I grew up with them when I lived in the village. This is Ruby," she gestured to her friend and she offered him a curtsey. "And this is Jade," the other girl's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she offered him a curtsey as well.

"We were lucky enough when Sofia came to the castle that Ruby and Jade stuck around," her brother spoke up. "They definitely kept things from being boring."

Victor looked from Ruby to Jade, perhaps sensing the distrust from the both of them, and offered them a bow. "I am honored with the opportunity to get to meet you both, I suspect that I will need to spend the rest of the day on my toes around you two."

"Are we done with the games?" Zachary asked as he seemed to shrug off the arrival of his uncle. "Or are we going to have another go?"

"Oh, let's have another go," Jade said, taking a moment to pull her glasses from her skirt pocket. She pulled them on then plucked out a small sack, giving it a shake so that it was apparent that coins were in it. "But let's make it interesting."

"Oh, I'm in!" James called as he fished out a few gold coins from his trouser pockets.

"I am not throwing away my hard earned money," Ruby went to sit down on the bench. "I'll watch and root for you."

Victor looked interested and went about pulling out a few coins of his own to add to it. There was a small stone table that they started collecting a pot in, "Winner gets the pot? What qualifies as a winner? Hitting the bullseye?" He asked for clarification. "There's already arrows in the target."

She jogged out to the target and took a little effort to pull the arrows from their previous game out. Once done when went back to join them, "I don't have any coins on me. Otherwise I'd join you in the game."

"I will spot you," her fiancé offered. "Your friend as well if she wishes to participate."

"You don't have to," Ruby waved a hand, looking embarrassed.

"Come now, it's all in good fun," he went on to throw few more coins into the pot.

"Since you're offering, Uncle, spot me a few while you're at it," Zachary grinned as he offered Jade the bow. "I will give it back to you after I win again."

The older man rolled his eyes and stood back to watch, "Ladies first, I assume."

"Yea," Jade offered Ruby the bow. "I'm going last though. So here. Try to hit the target this time."

"I tried the first time," Ruby complained as she stepped up and pulled an arrow from the quiver. She notched it and held a breath as she took aim, there was a slight shake in her arms and after a moment of holding it to ensure her aim, she released. They all remained quiet until the arrow struck the target, just barely. It hung low close to the ground, "Damn." She huffed lightly before offering up the bow, "I really need to work on my aim, especially when there's gold involved."

She took the bow and offered her friend a grin, "Picking up bad habits?"

"I bet she got that from the butcher's boy," Jade snickered.

"That's hardly fair and you know it," Ruby stuck her tongue out at the both of them before sitting on the bench, arms folded over her chest.

She took aim, tried clearing her thoughts as she focused on the target. She could do this, she took a breath and held it. She released the arrow and with it her breath watching, with satisfaction as the arrow struck just outside the bullseye. "It's a lot better than my last try," she smirked at Jade as she gave her the bow. "Better than what you did," she nudged her as she went to go join Ruby on the bench.

"Oh I got my glasses on now," she plucked up an arrow, "Game is on." They watched as she aimed and, after a beat, released the arrow. The arrow struck the target and Jade cheered! It wasn't dead center, but it was close. She offered James the bow, "Good luck beating that."

"I think she was hustling us," he started to complain as he stepped up to take his own turn. "That's hardly fair!" He made a disgruntled noise before he picked up an arrow and notched it, he aimed and as she watched him she saw that it was evident that he was unnerved by the fact that Jade had done so well with her glasses on. He released the arrow and it struck the target to the left of the bullseye, a little further from it than her own.

"Not bad," she complimented, because while it was a competition it should still be friendly.

He handed the bow off to Zachary and moved out of the way, bumping purposely into Jade. "Since when did you start hustling people?"

"It's not hustling," Jade said, sounding offended. She went to sit by Ruby, folding her arms over her chest and leaving her glasses on. "It's taking things seriously."

"I think I can beat it," Zachary smirked as he took up an arrow. "I did before," he notched it and aimed, "I could do it again." He released the arrow and waited, looking confident until the arrow struck the target. "Damn," the arrow stuck out just outside the bullseye. He grimaced and handed the bow to Victor, "I don't like the thought of losing to you."

"You shouldn't worry about losing to me," Victor chuckled as he picked up an arrow. "You should worry about the look on your face when you realize you were beaten by a woman," he gave the younger man's cheek a pat. "Make sure you remember to smile and politely accept defeat. It builds character!"

"You're going to lose on purpose?" James asked, looking anxious.

"Not on purpose," he assured her brother. He notched the arrow and seemed to be aiming true. And she watched, with a keen eye, as he adjusted his aim and then let the arrow loose. The arrow zipped through the air then struck target, it hit the target but it was just high of the bullseye. "Damn," he sounded convincing.

"I won?" Jade asked, looking confused.

"Are you sure you aren't hustling us, Miss Jade?" Victor asked though it was clear that he was amused by the idea.

She suddenly looked shy, though her cheeks didn't color. "I normally don't wear my glasses unless I need them. So, I wasn't hustling you," she picked up the bag of coins that she had put on the stone table. "If you think I was you can just take your coins back."

"I was asking in jest,"her fiancé assured her, picking up the rest of the coins and pressing them into her hands. "Glasses or no, your shots and aim were impressive. And you won fairly. The young prince and my nephew will just learn how to eloquently accept defeat and congratulate a winner."

She watched as Jade's cheeks colored then, she looked away and their eyes connected. She wasn't upset or offended, but it was clear that the other girl had been charmed by him. "Your shot was good," Jade offered. "I was sure you would hit dead center with the way you held the bow. I figured you had more practice than I did."

"I'm going to take that as a polite way of saying I'm old," he said with visible distaste. "I'm going to have to get used to that, aren't I?"

"I'll try not to mention it again," she offered.

"But, really, Uncle," his nephew came up behind him to give his shoulder a solid pat, to his obvious displeasure. "You shouldn't be offended by it. It builds character!" With that he and James, jogged ahead both snickering. "Lunch should be ready, right?"

"So, you're the fiancé," Ruby stood and she followed, just behind her. "How long have you know each other? I don't recall her mentioning you before." Ruby had a subtle tactic compared to Jade. She would ask questions she already knew the answer to and judge him based on his response.

He stayed back and close as they walked back towards the castle, moving slowly to make sure he could still converse with her friends. "Not long, I'm sure not long enough for what you two would deem an appropriate amount of time to ask for her hand."

"If you didn't know her," Jade asked, though she hadn't picked up on the tactic Ruby was using it was just genuine curiosity. "Why would you ask for her hand? How do you know you would even like her?"

"Are you saying Sofia isn't a likable person?"

"No, but you wouldn't know that," Jade shot back. While the other girl may have been impressed with his method of handling her winning the game, she wasn't likely to let him off easy.

"I didn't at first," he sighed uneasily, seeming to sense that he was being talked into a corner. "I'm not sure if you can understand the position that she or I are in. But, connecting two kingdoms by marriage is very beneficial for both kingdoms. Not only is it a means of sealing treaties and trade agreements, it also ensures that one kingdom is a strong ally with another." He stood a little taller and looked ahead, no longer connecting his gaze with the two girls he was speaking with, "Say if Enchancia were to fall into bad times, for whatever reason, my kingdom would be obligated to assist Enchancia in any way that it could. There's also many military advantages to it, especially if say... Enchancia has better trained knights and the like. Do you understand?"

"I do," Ruby offered, her brows drawn together as she spoke. "But, you requested her hand, didn't you? King Roland didn't offer her to you."

He seemed to hesitate as he considered how to answer, "I did request her hand."

"Why?" Jade's eyes were narrowed and it was evident that his answer would likely be the deciding factor as to whether or not he would win her favor.

"I'll admit," he started carefully, "When I first asked for her hand it was purely on the basis that she was beautiful. The second thought was that taking her as my bride would ensure that any agreements that Roland and I made would be secure through even his rule." He reached a hand up to toy with his beard, she was beginning to think it a nervous habit of his. "As I have been made aware of all the benefits are more than just military and financial for my kingdom's sake. She is intelligent and sensitive to the needs of others." He cleared his throat, "After my second trip it became apparent to me that there are princesses that just strive for power. Sofia hasn't struck me as a woman hungry for power."

"But, how do you know?" Jade asked.

"Because," he said evenly, turning to look at her. "When I was striving to get her to accept the agreement and be my bride I offered her the world. She looked skeptical and didn't seem to be interested in the prospect of me giving her the world."

"How would you have been able to give her the world?" Ruby asked curiously.

"That's not something I intend to share," he smiled politely. "She declined the offer of the world and agreed to become my bride on the agreement her father set. So, it's irrelevant."

She looked between her friends, they both seemed to be contemplating it. Jade seemed distrustful, though when it came to new people that wasn't a new development. Ruby on the other hand had a thoughtful look to her expression, "You agreed to allowing her to have a monthly visit with her family?"

"It was one of her conditions," he answered as they started up the steps to the veranda that they were going to have their lunch. "I readily agreed because it's necessary. I don't want to keep her prisoner. I merely want her as a companion and to be the mother of my children."

"And the large difference in your ages doesn't bother you?" Ruby didn't seem to be making an effort to make him uncomfortable, but her observant nature was out. "You can't really expect to have a lot in common."

"While I can't claim we have a lot in common we do have some similar interests," he did look like he didn't particularly enjoy the line of questioning. He took a moment when they approached the table to pull out a chair for her. "She has been studying magic and I have been making an effort of finding rare magical tomes for her when she comes to join me in Nigrum. I intend to keep her busy and I don't intend for her to get bored."

She sat, uneasy at the prospect. While the idea of reading rare tomes of magic had her interest quirked, she was sure there was something more to his promise of not letting her get bored. "You do know," Jade decided to forge ahead bluntly, as was her way. "That if you hurt her, you'll be in trouble right?"

Victor looked at Jade for a long moment, almost looking confused. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her curiously, "I think that goes without saying."

"They giving you the third degree?" James asked curiously.

He looked helplessly over to her brother, "I'm sure if the two of you weren't here I would probably be strapped to some table as they tortured information out of me."

"Oh, we're not that bad," Ruby waved a hand as she and Jade took seats on her right. Victor went the extra mile to pull out the chair for both of them. Giving the younger men a dark look for already being seat.

"Though," Jade said as he scooted her chair beneath the table. "I see the appeal to it. I don't think King Roland would very happy about the mess we would make."

When he finally sat, on her left, he had a deep grimace on his face, "I don't know whether or not you are serious. I get the feeling I should be afraid." He looked at her with raised eyebrows, "Am I in danger?"

"She's all talk if anything," she offered.

The conversation continued through lunch, at which Amber came to join them. It was pleasant and comfortable. Her friends seemed to make all of fears she had been harboring to be forgotten. After some banter, Jade seemed to be more at ease around her fiancé. Ruby still seemed weary, though she didn't allow it to bleed through their conversation. But, she saw her friend watching her fiancé like a hawk. Maybe she sensed something was off about him, too? She would have to wait until there was a moment they could be alone that she could ask her.

Lunch ended, but they lingered on the veranda as the day started to cool. All of them seemed to be enjoying the others company. She noticed the way that Zachary seemed to be driving conversation with Jade and how James seemed to be equally interested in what was being said. Her friend had always been more athletic than she and Ruby, she found herself surprised that the other girl didn't have more suitors. Though it may be because her standoffish behavior and her tendency to be sarcastic.

Ruby watched, as did she and Victor. The conversation that had been aimed at him had settled and for all intents she could only guess that they had become comfortable in his presence. They stayed out until the castle steward came to fetch them for dinner, then they ventured in to take the conversation and good humor to the dinner table.

As usual, she wasn't prepared for her friends to leave. Especially when she didn't have the opportunity to talk to either one of them alone. She and her sister, as well as her fiancé, escorted both of the village girls out to the carriage that would return them to their homes. She and Amber stood at the door of the carriage, Victor had been kind enough to hang back on the steps as they made their farewells.

She hugged Ruby, clinging for a moment. "What do you think of him?" She asked in her ear.

"He's nice," she murmured back before pulling away, "But, it feels like... Like there's something off about him."

Jade, as if sensing what they were talking about, came in and hugged them both close. "I can't tell if he's real or not," she said once she was close. "He's nice. I couldn't tell if he fudged that last shot on purpose. I don't even know how much gold I won off of him."

"It looked like more than I'd earn in a week," Ruby complained.

"Girls," Amber came into their hug and, uncharacteristically, wrapped her arms around her and Jade. "We have our final fittings in two days. You can discuss your concerns then. He won't be overlooking and it will be more private."

The other girls nodded and she released them reluctantly so they could board the carriage. Amber stood at her side as they watched the carriage ride away. "You have a week. I hope that they will be able to garner the time to spend with you before it's done," she sounded sad for a moment, "When you're gone do you think they will still be my friends?"

She turned to her and gave her a smile, "They are your friends, too. With or without me here, they'll still be your friends."

Her sister looked relieved and they both turned to look at the man that had been watching her friends off. "Time to keep forging ahead, Sofia. If anyone can handle this, I know you can," Amber wrapped her arm around hers and they went to join her fiancé. "How did you enjoy our friends, Prince Victor? I know they're not the polished princesses you might be used to, but I think they are far more genuine than any other princess I've met."

"I enjoyed them very much," he confided as he took up her other arm and the three of them walked into the castle. "Jade seemed highly suspicious of me, but I get the feeling that is a normal reaction?"

"She gets that way around new people she meets," she offered, though her friend's reaction may have been more so because of what he was there for.

"I think it's time we retire for the night, Prince Victor," Amber gave him a look. "It's getting late."

"Indeed it is," he released her arm, pausing to kiss the back of her hand. "Will there be any late night meetings tonight?" He eyed Amber as he spoke lowly.

"We have none scheduled," her sister answered for her. "But, still no reason to be careless."

"I will be extra careful then," he released her hand. "Good night ladies."

Amber took her to her room, they still walked arm in arm. "They don't trust him. That's worrisome."

"Jade probably can't move past the fact that he's taking me away," she offered as she stopped at her door. "Ruby on the other hand is a better judge of a person than Jade is. I was hoping to get a chance to talk with her and see what she thought of him."

"I'll make sure it happens when we go for the fitting," Amber offered. "Do you want it to be just the two of you?"

"I don't mind having the conversation with you and Jade there," she went to her door. "I don't know that it would be a really good idea for Madam Collette to hear that I have reservations about the wedding that's about to happen."

"I will take care of it. I'll see you in the morning," with that they parted ways.

She dressed for bed, but instead of laying in it she went to her writing desk. She pulled out the elaborately decorated journal and an inkwell and quill. She opened it to a fresh page, not wanting to look at the admission now, it made her heart hurt. She dipped the quill into ink and steadily began her thoughts.

'Victor told me that he was thirty one and that his sister Katrana was five years younger than him. That would put her at twenty six. If Zachary is her son, and he is eighteen, that would put her at the age of eight when she had him. It seems unlikely. Could that even happen? The thing is, if he was Victor's son that would have made Victor thirteen when he was born.

I feel like I'm missing something somewhere.

I overheard a conversation between them and Victor said I was so close to connecting the dots. I can't wrap my mind around having a child that young, whether Zachary is his or not. I think I'm running out of dots to connect.

What do you think?'

She went to get her wand, waving it over the page so that the ink would dry. She sat back down and considered the words she had written. Should she tell him of the entire conversation she had overheard? Would he help her dissect it?

She heard her door open and turned to see Victor enter. He appeared to be relieved when he saw her alone. He took the time to lock her door. He went on to her bed and proceeded to pull the blankets back then lay back into it with a sigh. There was no means of seduction, no flirtation. He just went about preparing the bed for them both to sleep on it.

She turned back to her journal and wrote, 'if I connect all the dots, what picture do you think it will create?' She set aside her quill and closed her journal, after waving her wand over the last bit to dry it. She stood and went to her bed, crawling to join the man in it. Once she settled down he pulled her flush against his form, he gave her a hungry kiss even though he didn't press for anything else.

Was this really going to be her future?

* * *

Chronomu is a reference to Chromie. She's a bronze dragon and I thought it would be funny to have him curse her. If you still play and have done anything with the legendary quest, you get my feels.

Next bit I'll tie up the last few things and get on with the wedding! No hate please!


	13. Chapter 13

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story is rated M for mature, meaning there is mature content ahead. Really if you got this far and skipped all the sexy scenes I have to applaud you. There's just a one small scene and the rest of it is gravy.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

So, yea I kinda drug my feet through this. Writing the wedding was really freakin hard to do. I really didn't want to do it. But, yanno, it's part of the plan. I know I'm going to get some hate for it. Especially the stuff that comes after it. But I promise some kind of happy ending, okay? Can you keep that in mind?

* * *

13

The days started dwindle away faster and faster. She found herself too busy humoring people and juggling the chores that Amber gave her that she didn't have a moments peace. It wasn't until the day of their final fitting that she was able to speak with her friends. Amber did as promised and kept the tailor and her assistant busy so that she was given a moment alone with them.

She was assisting Jade with the laces in the back of the dress. "I didn't get your unguarded opinions," she tried not to make it too tight. "What did you think?"

"He's nice, I guess," Jade said with a grimace, "I keep thinking that he threw that last shot. I don't know if it was to my benefit or not. What was the point of throwing it?"

She shrugged, "He wanted to win you over? Why not do a grand gesture?"

"He's charming," Ruby said as she circled Jade to look at the dress. "But, I don't know how I feel about him. I want to say that he seems way too old for you. And I know that Mister Cedric is older, but it seems like the two of you are on the same page." She looked at her, looking sad, "I don't think it's the same thing with Victor."

"Why ask to marry someone that's nearly half your age?" Jade asked. "Is it really like that?"

"Sometimes older dukes or kings even can ask for the hand of an available princess," she said uncomfortably. "He wasn't lying when he said it was done as a means to strengthen treaties."

"But, why ask for you?"

She could only shrug at her friend that was on the pedestal, "At first I thought he was just interested in sex. He seemed to push the issue quite a bit." She looked away, "But, now I don't know."

Ruby flushed as she circled Jade, "I guess I could see that. You seemed to be all he was really interested in. I think Jade and I were merely being humored so that you would be pleased. Though, really if he threw the last shot at the archery range then I can't really say. How much did you get from that again?"

"That was more than a weeks pay that I get from working in Dad's shop," Jade confided. "Our house has been needing a new roof for so long that I couldn't help but to give it to him, thinking he'd be pleased." She looked down, "At first he accused me of stealing it, then he asked if I had whored myself out for it. It's like I can't win."

She took her friends hand and gave it a squeeze, "He probably wouldn't be happy to know you were gambling."

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat though," she admitted. "Especially when I told him what to use it for. He quieted real quick."

"That's good," Ruby sighed as she went to look at the gown she was about to try on. "These are really going to be our gowns?"

"Yes," she came up behind her friend. "They were made especially for you. You ready to try yours on?" The other girl nodded and the went to getting her dressed in the gown.

Amber came in with the tailor and her assistant, apparently having kept them busy as much as she could. They worked on getting Ruby into her gown then went onto getting her into her wedding dress. She felt her stomach drop as she gazed at the beautiful lace thing that would be the last thing she would wear as a princess of Enchancia.

"Let's just make sure everything fits properly," the tailor said carefully as she came to stand behind her, prepared to assist in undressing her. She didn't fight it, she allowed them to undress her and then redress her in the foamy lace garment.

It was as if she were viewing herself, outside of herself. She was numb to the pull of the corset's laces. She didn't feel the pin that bit into her side. She didn't feel the heavy tug of the petticoats. She felt nothing. She was barely aware of what she looked like until a full sized mirror was slid before her. She saw a pale creature with white lace dancing about her, her eyes were wide and she looked completely lost. Was this the face of fear? Or defeat?

"She looks a little green," she heard Ruby observe. "You might want to get her out of it."

"Are you not feeling well, Sofia?" Her sister asked as she came before her, dressing in the stunning gown that she had designed.

She grimaced, unable to speak and the tailor and her assistant made quick work on getting her out of her wedding dress. Jade supplied her with a wastebasket and she found herself heaving up her breakfast. Her stomach felt tight and her throat burned. When she was sure she was done she stood, "Sorry. I... the dress is beautiful. I... I just-"

"Do not worry, dear Princess," the tailor smiled as her. "Nerves. That is what it was. I understand completely. Let us get you dressed so you can get back home to settle your stomach, hm?" They helped her redress in the gown she had arrived in. She hadn't managed to reconnect to herself, though she tried her best to praise her sister and their friends on how they looked in their gowns.

She spent the remainder of their time at the tailor staring blankly into space. Trying to find the pieces of herself that manage to flee. She didn't reconnect until Amber led them out to the carriage, she sat down and Ruby sat beside her, one of her arms encircling her waist and pulling her close, "Are you alright?"

She gave her friend a weak smile, then noticed she had the attention of the other three girls. "As alright as I could be, I guess," she sighed. "It's reality had a death grip on my stomach. And well, breakfast came up."

"I don't know that wretching at the sight of yourself in your wedding dress really qualifies as cold feet, does it?" Jade asked, she looked a little queasy herself.

"That looked like you were sick with fear," Amber observed. She looked down not wanting to meet the concerned looks of her friends. "What are you afraid of? Is it sex? Is it leaving us? What is it that's frightening you?"

"All of the above," she said uneasily.

"Is there something more specific?" Jade asked curiously.

There was the temptation to confide in them about the conversation she had heard. But, something held her back. Amber might think her crazy or reaching for some sort of excuse to not go through with it. Ruby and Jade on the other hand, there was very rare occasion that they didn't believe her. Jade might be skeptical, but Ruby would trust her enough to be afraid for her. But to what end?

She was sure they would tell her to go to her father and he wasn't likely to listen or take her seriously. She felt as if a rock had settled into her stomach, "There is, but...," she hesitated and looked out at the passing village as they went to return her friends to their respective homes. "I think it's more of the idea that I'm not ready for this," she amended. It wasn't a lie. This isn't how she saw her life going.

Amber reached across the carriage to give her knee a pat, "I know you would prefer to be out in the world, but it will be alright. I promise."

"I can only hope you're right," she tried not to whimper, though it may have come out. The arm around her waist tightened and her friend laid her head against her shoulder. Ruby was trying to give her strength.

She wasn't ready for this.

After returning her friends to their homes, they had begged off the time to try on dresses but couldn't commit to anything more, Amber and her returned to the castle. Her sister was kind enough to inform her fiancé of her illness and she spent the remainder of the afternoon curled up on her window seat, trying not to allow the outside world get to her.

She didn't nap, though she felt exhausted. She just curled up on the plush seat, the one place that didn't seem to have the lingering smell of Victor on it, and held onto her journal. She hadn't checked to see what his opinion or reply was to her last entry.

But, she couldn't ignore it for too long. Not if he found a potion that had the possibility of helping her. She sat up and opened the book, turning the page to where she had confided her thoughts to him.

'While the thoughts are disturbing, they are unfortunately feasible. Both of them. Allow me to explain. While your mother and father have put you into this situation, it is very unlikely that they would allow any sort of sexual advances before you were wed.

Other kingdoms and countries may not be the same way. Some offer their daughters to be wed at a very young age. That is possible that is what happened. However, in the event your assumption is true and the boy is the spawn of your fiance it could have likely been due to the fact that he has a led a very promiscuous life that started at an early age. A lifestyle like that does come with consequences.'

The first thought actually made her feel bad. She found herself hoping, for his sister's sake, that Zachary was in fact a product of a promiscuous lifestyle.

'I found a potion for you, even though I wish you would change your mind on it. I've already begun brewing it. I imagine it will be ready before.'

That was the end of his message. It wasn't entirely comforting, but knowing there was something that just might save her was a relief. Even if it took months. She just hoped, when he realized that she wouldn't give him a child that he wouldn't be angry. She's heard the noises he had made in his anger, the inhuman growls that reverberated through him. It was a sinister noise that she knew she should be afraid of. But she would take the only option she had left and hope that it would save her in some way.

More days passed, visiting dignitaries from other kingdoms began to trickle in. It was evident that many Kings and Queens would not be able to part with their kingdom, but they were sure to send a prince or princess in their stead. It meant a lot of her classmates would be in attendance. It also meant that her fiancé would be occupied with them and any questions about the wears his kingdom had to offer.

It gave her a break and space from him. Though at night, even with the increased number of people in the castle, he would still come into her room and join her in her bed. It didn't help her nerves and more often than not she would find herself struggling to sleep. It made her irritable, though anyone that noticed only chalked it up to the approaching wedding.

The princes that had come for the sake of their parents for their wedding seemed to stay out of the way. When they weren't talking with Victor, they spent the majority of the time with James and Zachary. Zandar was also in attendance and, fortunately, Amber kept her word. Though it may have been that she was far too busy entertaining the princesses that had come to call.

Of course Hildegarde was there, as was Clio. Her father on the other hand, despite his words before, wasn't going to be attending the wedding. "Don't be insulted though," she said nonchalantly. "Daddy just really dislikes being told 'no.' That's all. He still wishes you the best, Sofia, he just didn't want to come. He did pick out the gift though and I know you're going to love it!"

"That must be something men have in common," she said lightly. "Victor doesn't like being told 'no' either."

"Well, with men in their position they're so used to getting their way. They sulk like children when they don't," she positioned her fan in front of her face and raised a well sculpted eyebrow. "But you can't really complain, can you? At the very least, you know you are marrying a good lover. It could be worse. At least some day you'll be a queen."

"Probably not for a long time," she remarked as they sat out on the veranda sipping tea. "He told me that his father is alive and well. And not likely to be passing down the crown anytime soon."

"I thought someone said he was in his thirties," Clio looked curious. "Surely his father is old."

She shook her head, "When we talked about it, he said his parents had him when they were at a young age." She turned to take a look out at the playing field where the princes were kicking around a dazzle ball. Her eyes one Zachary, "So, I'm thinking King Daval is probably still in his prime."

"Are we going to meet your future father in law?" Clio asked curiously. "I met his nephew. It's striking how much they look alike. They're both so handsome." She seemed to have followed her gaze to the boy with the ponytail, "He's like Prince Victor without the beard."

"Mm," Hildegarde hummed from behind her fan. "I'm, personally, unsure which way I would prefer him. With or without the beard. They both look delicious."

She flushed and Amber clucked lightly in irritation, "Let's not take the conversation down that path, Hilde. We're expecting Vivian and I don't know that she could handle such crude talk."

"I don't know that I could handle it either," she grumbled, grateful for her sister.

Vivian arrived shortly after this, unfortunately, without her dragon pet. "She's gotten so big after the last year and I didn't think it would be a good idea to bring her along. Not with all the things she could get into," she looked bashfully down at her feet.

"That's being very thoughtful," Amber commented. "If she still sets thing on fire randomly it's for the best. Don't worry, Sofia," she gave her shoulder a pat.

"Come join us for tea," Clio waved at her. "We're going to have lunch out here, too!"

She came to join them and shortly after the princes came to seek up lunch. It was almost as if they were transported back to the days of Royal Prep, they all gathered around one large table to eat and gossip about the various changes to each of their lives. It was pleasant and reminiscent. Before she knew it the day had darkened and they started venturing into the castle for dinner.

Was this how it was to be? They would only gather together for major life events? She wouldn't see any of these peoples, save maybe Zachary, again unless there was something that warranted an invitation. They were her friends, people that she studied with and played with as a child. They went from carefree children to adults that had duties and obligations. This was the consequences of growing up.

After dinner she was headed back to her bedroom, feeling exhausted and melancholy. A throat cleared and she turned around to see her timid friend had followed her. "Do you mind if we talk alone?"

"I'd actually welcome your company," she smiled at the other girl. "C'mon." She went to her room and slid the door open. They stepped into her room and she closed the door behind her friend, leading the way to the window seat. "What did you want to talk about?"

"You're marrying a man that you don't know," she hazarded carefully.

She nodded, looking away, "It's something he asked for after approaching our kingdom."

"You're afraid?" She looked innocent with the line of questions and she fought not to snap at her friend. She could only nod, because it was the truth. "My parents have me arranged to marry a duke from Freezenberg. He's older than me, too," she said uneasily. "We've only met a few times, but he seems nice enough."

"We're kind of in the same boat," she said aloud as she looked to Vivian. "When were you engaged?"

"About a week ago."

"You're not afraid?"

"I have to trust that my parents have me in their thoughts when they agreed to the arrangement," she said lightly. "I don't know a lot about him and he says he intends to court me. Or wedding isn't set as soon as yours was. But, I trust that they aren't going marry me off to someone that would do me harm. He's going to be coming to Zumaria." She seemed to fiddle with ruffles on her skirt.

"At least you won't have to leave home," she offered.

"You're afraid of Prince Victor?" She asked again as their gazes met, "Is it because he pressed for a short engagement?"

"It's because there's something about him that I can't place," she stood and went to her bedside table, picking up the book that he had given her. "My instinct keeps telling me that there's something wrong with him, something that's not right. No one else seems to agree with me though." She offered the book to her friend, "He wrote this."

Vivian took the book, her eyes widening at the title. "It's about dragons," she marveled and opened the front page. "He wrote it?" She watched as the other girl seemed to delve into the information that she had offered her.

"There's dragons in his kingdom, they're massive and black scaled," she leaned back into the pillow.

She looked up at her wide eyed, "Did you see them?"

"I saw one."

"Did it look like anything like Crackle?"

"Not really, he were black and he was huge. He was bigger than Crackle, he was even bigger than the two flying horses we had pulling our carriage," she leaned over to turn a few pages. Pausing at the illustrations of the sizes of the beasts, "I thought Crackle was about the size of a whelp." She turned a page and pointed to a larger illustration of a dragon, "That was about the size and look of Zartharian."

"It would make sense that Crackle is a whelp," Vivian confided. "Her egg was gifted to my parents not long after I turned five. So she's not very old. She has gotten bigger though."

"Did you want to talk about your engagement to the duke?"

"Actually," she seemed distracted by the book now. "I noticed you had seemed on edge. I thought, maybe, if you needed an ear... " She trailed off, though the thought remained open ended.

She smiled, "Thanks. I really appreciate the thought. I don't know that there's a lot that I'm can really talk about that I haven't already talked about." She turned to look out at the darkening sky. "I keep thinking my fears are based on the fact that I would have rather had the choice of who I wanted to marry."

"I can't argue that," the other girl said softly as she turned a page and seemed to devour the information on the page. "Though, if I'm honest with myself... I probably wouldn't want to marry."

"You don't want to?"

She shook her head with a serious look on her face, "I find it so hard to connect with people, to trust them and let them in. The idea of allowing someone to get so close to me terrifies me. I'm fine with the good friends that I have and Crackle." She smiled pleasantly as she seemed to think fondly of her pet, "Now that I know that she will likely outlive me, it's a comforting thought. I was afraid. After Clover died and she became so depressed. I don't know what I would do without her." Something seemed to occur to the other girl and she met her gaze, "You're my best friend, you're one of the few people that have accepted me as I am. Do... do you think he will let us visit one another?"

"He agreed that I could have a monthly visit with my family," she tried to be reassuring with the other girl. "I'm sure once his kingdom has established trade with the rest of the world there'll be cause for visits."

"If you can see positivity and reassure me," Vivian started carefully. "Why can't you see the positivity in the situation yourself?"

She swallowed, "Because it's not something I wanted."

"Life is a series of events, a lot of which we're forced to face and do things we don't want," the other girl stood, hugging the big book to her chest. "If I had stayed at home and not agreed to be your partner and did all work on my own do you think we would still be friends?"

"But, do you regret it?"

"Of course not," Vivian said evenly. "You've helped me with so much, even when I've been pushed out of my comfort zone. I'm just hoping you'll accept the fact that your parents have choose something for you that forces you out of your own comfort zone. It doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing. I'm sure there's a lot that Prince Victor has to offer you."

"It's food for thought," she said uneasily. "Are you going to bed?"

She nodded then gestured to the book, "I intend to steal this, at least until I finish it. Do you mind?"

She smiled, "Not at all. I offered it to you because you have a dragon."

"Thanks, I'll give it back once I'm finished with it," she turned to go to the door pausing just at it. "He seems nice enough, maybe your gut feeling is only because you are just stuck on the idea that you didn't want to forced into it?"

"Maybe," she said uneasily, though the other girl didn't know about the overheard conversation. Her suspicions weren't just on the basis of her discomfort. She wasn't sure she could face her judgment if she knew. Would Vivian believe her? "Try not to stay up too late," she forged ahead.

"I'll try to resist reading it all tonight," she said in return, opening the door and stepping out into the hallway, "Good night."

She stayed at her window seat and looked out at the night, lost in her thoughts. She had a day. One more day until there was no going back, there was no saving her. That this would be it for her.

The door slid open, pulling her from her thoughts. It was Victor, like clockwork. She shot a look to her clock and saw that it was near eleven as she heard him lock her door. "Tomorrow," she turned to watch him pull back the blankets of her bed then go about making himself comfortable. "Tomorrow you won't be able to do this."

He looked at her curiously, stretched out and looking very much like he belonged there. "I won't?"

"My friends from the village will they stay with me, they like to sleep in the same bed as I do," she smiled fondly at the memory. "As if we were still children. So," she released a breath as she looked back at him, trying to resist the urge that beckoned her to join him in her bed. "You will have to sleep in your own bed."

He rolled onto his stomach and looked at her through narrowed eyes, the sex appeal that he exuded seemed to call to her and she fought to stay where she was at on the window seat. "What is it that you will be doing with your friends in your bed?"

She could only shrug, turning to look out the window. "Amber has plans for something earlier in the day. I think she called it a shower. I know afterwards that Ruby and Jade will want to do some things a little less uh... organized."

"Nothing exciting then?" He said flirtatiously.

"Not what you are thinking, I'm sure," she murmured.

"Ah," he sighed with something of a pout and shifted on the bed again. He remained on his stomach, but looked to be preparing to go to sleep. "Come to bed, my princess," he purred.

"Don't wait for me," she told him without looking at him. "If you're tired, go to sleep."

"It is not the same without you by my side," he murmured. "There is something comforting about your scent that just makes me want to bathe in it." She turned to look at him, watching as he buried his face into her pillow. He groaned, "Another day, two if you consider the pomp and circumstance that is likely to be our wedding." He looked up at her again and she saw lust burning in his eyes, "Come to bed, my princess."

She clenched her thighs together, trying to still the feelings he created in her. "If I come to bed, all we will be doing is sleeping," she told him sternly.

He smirked slightly at that and she worried that he might press for more, "Two more days, my princess, and you will be mine."

She hesitated before she came to join him in the bed. His arm immediately wrapped around his waist and he tugged her form against his. Her nerves didn't settle if anything, the way his mouth caught hold of hers made her fear what his intention were after two days.

The next day went by quickly, her sister and the visiting princesses occupied her with tea and lunch. Her friends came to join them for lunch. It completed her day, being around people she cared for. The day went by so quickly. It seemed like in a blink of an eye she was back in her bedroom.

At some point, her sister had procured a few bottles wine for them and a platter of the chocolate truffles. The castle steward had supplied them with a music box, looking the other way at the bottles of wine. She wasn't even sure how many glasses she had or any that her friends had had. Jade was currently camped at the dinette set, taking turns between nursing a glass of wine or eating chocolates.

"These are so good," she said with a moan. "Oh, I wish I could afford these at home."

"Me too," Ruby quipped from beside her. She hadn't been drinking, though she had sipped at her glass she had hesitated on finishing it. She wasn't much of a drinker either.

"Oh girls," Amber said from the bed, her cheeks were flushed and it was apparent that she had nursed more glasses than she kept count of. "All you need to do is come to the castle and I'll give you all the chocolate you can eat."

Hildegarde that had invited herself and with her Clio had joined them. They both were laid back on her bed, sipping wine and talking quietly between each other. They didn't bother to join the conversation between them. Vivian sat on her otherside, the three of them on her window seat. Vivian leaned against her shoulder and she leaned against Ruby in response. She wasn't even aware if the other girl had been drinking.

"Oh, Sofia!" Her sister stood, wobbled, then went to the tray of chocolate. She ended up sitting at the dinette with Jade, pausing in her question to eat the delectable morsel. "Tell us, are you excited about tomorrow?"

"Not really," she answered honestly. Because she couldn't lie and especially to those present.

"Amber really has your wedding set to be a real show," Hildegarde sat up, looking at her with a sudden interest and clarity. She didn't look to be under any sort of influence like her sibling. "I see why you wouldn't be excited. Though, you did enjoy the attention while you were in school you should enjoy the attention of being married off to a prince, right?" She paused to shoot back a look at her friend, Clio had grabbed her shoulder and shook her head as if to deter her. "What I want to know is if you're excited about your wedding night?" Hildegarde said with a smirk.

She grimaced, but instead of taking the bait she supplied her with the same honest answer, "Not really."

"Oh come on," the other princess went on haughtily. "I know that you to have at the very least fooled around on some level. You can't hide or change what I saw and heard. Tell us, is he as good looking with his clothes off as he is with his clothes on?"

Vivian pulled away, her face a bright shade of crimson, "You've seen him without his clothes on?"

"Do tell us," Hildegard pressed.

"Clothes," she started uneasily, "Don't really do a lot to hide his physique." She took a moment to drain the rest of the wine from her glass, grimacing as the alcohol hit her stomach and seemed to alter the tilt of the world. "He's a wall of muscle," she offered.

Amber hummed, picking up one of the opened bottles of wine and coming to her so that she might refill her glass. She gave a light huff when they all noticed the bottle was empty. "I had thought the bottle was endless," she said in complaint. She turned to fetch the other bottle and made the discovery that it, too, was empty. "We are out of wine."

"Maybe we've had enough," Ruby said from beside her. "I've never been hungover and I don't intend to find out what it feels like."

"Even if any of do become hungover they have a Royal sorcerer that can surely brew up a potion to cure us," Clio offered from the bed. "The wine is good, Ruby, you should really drink more of it."

"But, we're out."

"Not for long," Amber went to the pull cord and gave it at tub, then held on to it as she struggled to remain standing. "I'm sure Baileywick won't mind fetching us more.

It was a diversion that she appreciated. She leaned back against Ruby and tried to let the warmth that spread through her settle her irked nerves. The castle steward arrived in short order and after hearing their request for more alcohol he gave them a disapproving look, "Ladies. It is nearing midnight. I think you have had quite enough to drink." He went to fetch the two empty bottles and gave Jade a concerned look. "Are you going to be alright?" She nodded though, she did look a little green around the edges. "Perhaps it's a good idea that you call it a night? You do have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow."

Hildegarde huffed lightly and stood, motioning Clio to follow. "I am tired. I do believe I will be calling it a night. You coming Clio?"

"Didn't you want to go back to Amber's room? I thought we talked about sleeping in there like we did when we were kids," Clio hesitated.

"Amber?" Hildegarde looked to her sister with a raised eyebrow.

"Fine," her sister tried to straighten herself, adjusting then readjusting her tiara. "I suppose we should start going to bed before we all turn into pumpkins. Goodnight, Sofia. We will see you in the morning." With that the three princesses left her room.

The castle steward watched them leave then turned to her, "I will bring you girls a few potions in the morning for the headaches you are sure to wake up with. Is there anything you need before I retire for the night?"

"I'm good," Ruby assured him, standing and stretching. "I think I will definitely lay down though, it's been a long day and I bet tomorrow is going to be even longer."

"Do you mind if I sleep in here, too?" Vivian asked in her ear.

"Not at all," she smiled, feeling warmed by the idea. "I bet all four of us can probably still fit in my bed."

"I am definitely ready to crawl into bed," Jade quipped before heaving herself up and crossing the room to flop across the end of the bed. "I worked all day and I think I ate too much chocolate."

"I think we'll be fine until morning, Baileywick," she started to stand and with her Vivian stood as well. "Thanks for coming to check on us."

"Anything for you, princess," the steward bowed then lower the lights for them. He left them to crawling in bed. It wasn't long before the four of them were curled up together in her bed.

She sat in her room, the wedding wasn't due to happen until three that afternoon. It was currently seven in the morning. Her friends were still sprawled out in her bed. Jade had taken the foot of the bed and she had laid between Vivian and Ruby. It was awkward at first, but it was a pleasant sleep. She didn't remember curling up between her friends in so long.

Vivian was shy, still, but she took to Ruby and Jade with gusto. Though it hadn't been the first time the three girls had met. She found herself wishing they had done this without a reason.

She had risen earlier than she really should have. But, nerves had woken her early. She wouldn't be able to go back to sleep if she tried. So, when she sat up surrounded by her friends she carefully extracted herself from Ruby's embrace and went about cleaning herself up. Once done, she sat on her window seat and peered out at the tower of her sorcerer. She ached to go to him, to go see him. But, it was too early and it was likely that he wouldn't be up yet. She would need to find time at some point today to pay him a visit. He had the potion ready and waiting for her.

She needed to see him before she left the kingdom.

There was a light tap at the door and she turned to watch as the castle steward opened the door. He entered quietly, a tray of vials in hand. At first he didn't spot her, he took the tray and set it on the dinette set table and was about to leave when he spotted her. "Princess," he approached her, speaking in a hushed tone. "I didn't expect you to be up."

"I had a hard time sleeping," she smiled at him. "I would have come down for breakfast, but I wasn't really hungry yet."

He sat beside her on the window seat, "Are you alright?"

"As alright as I could be considering what today is," she looked back out the window. "This was a bad decision and it's too late for me to back out of it or say no."

"I'd like to think that your father would understand," the steward put a hand on her knee. "But, I wouldn't want to tell you something like that without the expressed knowledge that he would support you if you decided to say no. So much work has already been done all that is left to do is walk down the aisle." He sighed heavily as he leaned away from her, "I wish there was something I could do to help you or, at the very least, set your worries at ease."

"I know it would be unreasonable of me for this all to be set in motion and then get down to the altar and say no," she looked at him. "I think with the current situation I can't say no. I don't know what dad would say and I'm worried what Victor would do."

"You're afraid of what Prince Victor would do?"

"I don't know all that he's capable of, I don't know that he's completely shown us his hand as to what kind of things he has at his disposal. I didn't know he commanded dragons. When I mentioned it to dad he didn't seem as concerned as I would have expected," she confided. "I wanted him to be angry or at the very least concerned that Victor had hidden important information form him."

"But he didn't," he explained. "Your father knew. For whatever reason they decided not to share the information with you. I can't fathom why." He took a moment to clean his glasses as he spoke, "I found myself wondering if it was because he didn't want it to influence your decision on accepting Prince Victor's offer."

"You mean they didn't want the knowledge that he had dragons to be a deciding factor, that he wouldn't be a threat to us if I said no," she sighed and looked out the window. "He's been nothing but reasonable and patient."

"It's natural to have second thoughts when you are in the situation that you are in," he replaced his glasses and stood. "Your marriage isn't for love, but for financial and political gain of your kingdom. It's unfortunate. If there was anything I could do, Princess, I would do it. I went so far as to try to contact Duchess Matilda. She and I exchanged correspondence on the issue and she tried her best on your behalf to get your father to break the engagement. But, you know how your father can be when he sets his mind on something. She's not going to be able to make your wedding, but she assured me that she would be in Enchancia when you are due for one of the visits that Prince Victor agreed to allow."

Her Aunt was likely the best person to talk to concerning all her fears, "I wish I would have thought of Aunt Tilly sooner."

"We may have saved some great distress if she had been close by when Prince Victor first requested you," he looked remorseful. "I'm sorry I didn't think of it sooner." He pulled his pocket watch from his pocket and spied the time, "I have a lot of work ahead of me for today. Would you like me to bring you anything? Perhaps some breakfast?"

"I don't know that I could each much," she answered honestly, her heart was in her stomach and her stomach was in knots.

"I will bring some toasted bread with honey and cheese. Perhaps that will help settle your stomach and in the event any of your friends wake up with queasiness it'll help them along with the potion," he went to the door. "I'll give you another hour or so before we need to start preparing for the day."

"Thanks," she said, even though she didn't feel grateful. The conversation hadn't put her at ease at all. The thought that her Aunt may have been able to assist her in some way made her wish that she had considered contacting her in the beginning. Aunt Tilly had always had a different way of looking at things, would she be able to see past Victor's façade?

She remained there at her window even after a handmaid arrived with the offerings that the steward had promised. She thanked her, but didn't bother to rise to get anything to eat. It wasn't until ten that her sister had came in to raise her guests from their rest. "Wake up, wake up!" She didn't even bother to knock. "We have got a lot to do!"

Behind her came several handmaids and the tailor with her assistant. Between four of them was her gown, if her stomach could plummet any further it would. They set up the gown on a mannequin and went to fetch her sister's and her friend's gowns. The next few hours were a blur of people and activity.

Once roused, Vivian took a vial of potion then fled. Jade took one as well, though she decided to forgo one as did Ruby. They snacked on the bread and cheese, sipping on tea as make up was applied to them by another person and their hair was styled. Jade's hair was pulled back and twisted at the back, hair was curled to frame her face that was powdered. They also put kohl around her eyes and bright red rouge on her lips. Her pale skin coupled with the make up made her eyes stand out like emeralds. She was amazed how beautiful her friend could be.

They did some similar magic with Ruby, her hair was pulled up into a bun on the top of her head and curls cascaded downward. They applied make up in a similar fashion and she stared at her friends wondering if they should have been princesses instead of her. Once they were done with her friends they made up Amber. She basked in the attention of having her face painted and her hair brushed and curled, she opted to keep her hair down per usual.

She was approached when Amber's hair was still being worked on. Her mother drifted into her room and she helped coach them in how her make up should be. She sat beside her and took her hand, pulling it into her lap, "Lightly. Let her natural beauty shine through." She supervised as they lightly powdered her cheeks, rouged her lips with a pale pink color. They used a light amount of kohl around her eyes and her mother smiled at her. "Perfect," she breathed with a slight hitch in her breath.

They brushed her hair then brought a hot rod to curl it, using it to accentuate the natural wave to her hair. They left it down, as was her preference. Her mother supplied her with simple pearl earrings, helping her put them on, "Your father gave these to me. Right after we married. I didn't think we could afford them and I remember cursing him for throwing the money away." She looked sadly at her, smiling weakly, "He told me that he had found them, two perfect pearls while he had been out shucking oysters for the market. He had saved them and saved any extra money he had to have them made into earrings."

"You kept them?" She met her mother's gaze, her brows drawn together. After her father had died they had struggled quite a bit, her mother had been forced to part with a lot of her treasures.

"I loved your father," she confided. "He worked so hard and he loved us both so very much." She took a moment, appearing to try to contain her emotions, "He's watching over you, Sofia. He won't allow anything bad to happen to you, you know that, right?"

"I hope so," she leaned forward to wrap her arms around her mother. "I hope so."

Her mother cupped her chin and forced their gazes to meet, "I don't think he's foolish enough to harm you." She kissed her forehead, "I think he realizes how special you are and he's not going to do it."

"I hope you're right," she couldn't help, but whimper.

After a moment the tailor announced that they should start dressing. They worked on getting Amber, Jade, and Ruby dressed first. Ruby then Jade and, of course, Amber last. She took the most effort to get into the gown. They each looked glamorous in the gowns, Ruby swished to and fro in the petticoats and skirts. She twirled and looked as if she might be tempted to break out into a full dance. Jade stood staring at herself in the mirror, seeming completely transfixed with the vision she had become.

"Okay," Amber quipped as they all seemed to be dragging their feet now for the inevitable. "It's time to get the bride dressed!"

It took all their effort to get her into the gown, first the layers of petticoats then the layers of lace that was the dress. It was a beautiful gown, something that took her breath away to see, but it was heavy. It felt like a huge weight was on her shoulders once they had it in place and began to tighten up the laces to the corset. She stood before a mirror, seeing herself pale and sickly in the mountain of lace.

"You are gorgeous," she heard one of her friends murmur.

She looked to her mother and saw tears sliding down her cheeks, she wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that she was about to be married or if she was overwhelmed by how she looked. When she looked back at the mirror all she saw was a ghost of the girl that she was. Once she was dressed they set a tiara upon her head that had a veil affixed to it. The swath of material was pulled back and they were given time to adjust to the restrictiveness of the gowns they wore.

A painter came in and sketched them then began work of painting them as they did the last minute details of preparing her to go down the aisle. It was then she began to disconnect with herself. She moved in a daze, going where prompted, standing still and listening to the chatter of the handmaids and Amber.

She was handed a bouquet of flowers, a mix of white roses with lavender. As the time drew nearer, they were directed out of her bedroom and down towards the throne room where her wedding would be held. They were in a side room that, aside from today, was mostly used for storage. They were going over the traditions, seeing to that she had everything covered. The earrings her mother gave her were something old and borrowed, Amber slipped a sapphire bracelet around her wrist for something blue, and Ruby offered her a copper to put in her shoe. All this for luck and a happy marriage.

Her stomach twisted tighter into a knot and she thought for a moment she would be sick.

Music began to play and Amber started to direct people out of the room. First her mother, who would be escorted to a seat, then Ruby and Jade. Once they were alone, Amber distractedly peering out the room and counting out the steps between each bride's maid, she turned to look at her. "Are you alright? You look as if you might faint."

"I'm considering it," she confided, "But, I think I'll be alright."

"Daddy's right here to escort you to the altar, it's my turn. I'll see you up there," without she gave one last primp before the mirror and stepped out of the room.

She stood alone, shaking as she struggled to stay afloat. She agreed to this, she could do this. Her father opened the door, "Come, Sofia. It's time." He offered her his arm and she took it.

She used the flowers to hide how fiercely she clung to his arm and she noticed his discomfort out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn't relent the death grip she had on his bicep. "I feel as if I am going to be sacrificed here," she whispered to him. "This is the last place that I will see everyone I know and love."

"That's not what's happening," he whispered furiously back to her. "This is two kingdoms joining. This is how it's been done for centuries. No one is sacrificing you."

"Tell that to my heart," she bit back, trying to keep her tears at bay.

They stood before a Chaplain and the ceremony began. It was a blur that if asked later she wouldn't be able to recall, it seemed to be a mix of going by quickly then inching by at a snail's pace. When the Chaplain inquired who was giving her away her father's voice rang out, "Her mother and I."

It echoed in her ears.

Her father then offered her hand to Victor, who quickly took his place by her side and took her hand to wrap around his arm. She looked up at him and vaguely saw a bit of concern on his expression before he turned to direct his attention back to the Chaplain. There was a story, or a speech she couldn't tell which, about the sanctity of love. It seemed out of place since this was an arranged marriage, but no one seemed to be bothered by it. His voice appeared more of a ringing noise in her ears, she couldn't entirely understand what he was saying but each time he would say the word 'love' it cut through the ringing tone.

Soon, they were directed to face one another, her gaze going up to Victor's. She couldn't keep the fear from her face, she could see it on her expression reflected in his gaze. His brows drew together as he looked back at her, but he didn't say anything. He merely, cupped her left hand in both of his. It didn't give her any real comfort.

A ring was slid on to the finger of her left hand and, shakily, she slid one onto his. The ringing cleared just enough for her to hear, "And you may kiss your bride." He smiled at her, all charming and frightening at once. He closed the distance between them and captured her mouth. It was chaste, as it should be with so many people watching.

There was applause that replaced the ringing and when he released her, he turned them to the audience of royalty. They were introduced now as husband and wife. And it was done. She struggled with the thought of how she survived it.

He led her from the throne room and kept a firm grip on her, she dimly recalled leaning against him. His grip was probably the one thing that kept her from melting into a puddle of tears. They were lined up, her and her bridesmaids and he and his men. A final painting before she could be free for a breath. Then she was released to go back to her room and find something a bit more reasonable to wear that wasn't so cumbersome when tasked with entertaining guests.

Her handmaid was there to help her out of the mountain of lace. She took real care to not damage the work of art that the gown was. Once she had her free of the gown they both went to great lengths to put it back onto the dummy that it had rested on. Then, with less of an effort needed, her handmaid made quick work of putting her into a light white gown that she would wear to the reception.

Once done, she caught the older woman in a hug. She held her tightly and tried her best to not cry. "You have done so much for me," her voice shook as she spoke. "You have been so caring and gentle with me even though I know my siblings don't give you the respect you deserve. You have no idea how much you've done for me since I came to the castle. There's no words that can truly convey how grateful I am to you," she whimpered.

"Dearest," the older woman's shoulders shook slightly. "Your absence will be felt by everyone. You will be missed dearly." She pulled away and took a moment to wipe at her cheeks, "Don't cry for us, lovely. We will be out in the courtyard to see you off."

"I've got to go see him before I go," she said, her voice thick and hoarse. "I've got to."

"If anyone asks me I will tell them that you had some last minute things you had to see to," she smiled weakly. "Don't keep them waiting too long."

"Thank you," she said again then went to her door, pausing to see the large trunks near her door. She had forgone the idea of taking all of her things. But the need for clothing made it necessary. She had fashioned a small pocket into the gown she wore to hide her wand. She pulled the purple length of wood from it and studied it wearily. Should she really keep it on her? She opened the closest trunk and deftly slipped the wand into one of the pockets in the lid. It would probably not be a good idea to have magic close at hand with her emotions in such turmoil.

She closed the trunk and then went out the door. Then she didn't hesitate. She rushed to the tower, running in the most unladylike manner with her gown on. It didn't matter, everyone was occupied with the celebration of her wedding. But, she knew one person that wouldn't be in attendance. She made it to his door with a light pant and knocked.

He opened it and swept it open to allow her in, "You are pressing for time." His voice sounded harsh and he looked impatient. He plucked up a vial filled with an olive green colored liquid. He offered it to her, "There's no guarantees that it will work. There's still a possibility that it might make it impossible for you to have children. Are you sure this is the route you want to take?"

"This is the only option I have left," she took the vial from him. "I will sacrifice what I have to," with that said she put the vial to her lips then knocked it back without a second thought.

He looked bereft for a moment, watching her cautiously as she offer him the empty vial. The liquid went down her throat thickly, it was a struggle to not choke on it. She took a breath and leveled her gaze with his. "This is all I have left. Thank you, I know you didn't want to do it. I know you would have rather me taken your deal and given you my amulet."

"You're right though," he said in irritation. "The consequences were too great to risk, I see that and I know that." He deflated then, "You are too good to allow me to corrupt the jewel or you." He began to truly look bereft, "But, me giving up the chance to rule this kingdom and save you is putting you right in his hands. I've lost without truly being able to fight." His hands fell on her shoulders and he gripped them tightly, "You didn't give me the chance to fight."

She reached up to cup his cheek, "I couldn't risk you. You're too important." She stepped forward and he made no move to keep her away, even with his hands on her shoulders. She closed the distance and pressed her lips to his.

He made a noise, almost a whimper. One of his hands went into her hair and the other around her shoulders, pulling her close. Her lips parted and she lightly swept her tongue across his bottom lip, he leaned heavily against her. His mouth opened to her and the kissed deepened, he groaned lightly as their tongues met. It felt like this was where she was meant to be.

He held her tightly, allowing her to only part from him just long enough to get adequate breaths before pressing her for more kisses. If she had known this would be his reaction to her kissing him she would have done it long ago.

Her heart twisted up when he finally decided to release her. His hands went back to her shoulders and he pushed her back away, keeping her at arms length. "I wish you hadn't done that," he sounded pained. "I would have liked to gone without knowing how you tasted."

"I'm sorry," though, she wasn't really. She licked her lips and closed her eyes, she would crave him more now than she ever had before. She would remember the slight bitter taste of lemongrass and associate it with him, even if she never got another opportunity to kiss him.

"You need to go," he said thickly. "Go before someone comes to look for you," he released her shoulders and took a step back. His expression looked as pained as he sounded, "I will miss you. More than I'm sure you'll ever know."

She tried to swallow her tears, it made her throat burn and it left a pain in her chest. "I'll keep in contact with you." She went to his door, turning back to meet his. "I'll miss you, too." With that, she left him. If she didn't leave now she wasn't sure she would be able to.

She found her way back down to the ballroom for the reception. Victor was quick to sweep her up for a dance, gliding her around the floor in a way he hadn't when they held the ball that announced their engagement. He had a surety to him that he didn't have the first time at the ball.

She would have questioned it if it weren't for the fact that she was distracted by the lump lodged in her chest. She numbly recalled cutting the first slice of cake, daintily feeding him a piece and receiving careful bite from him. Food and wine was passed out, she received congratulations and praise from her friends and royalty of neighboring kingdoms.

Her fiance—no, her husband now, kept her out on the dance floor for the majority of the night. She vaguely recalled seeing her friend Jade awkwardly trying to show his nephew how to waltz on the corner of the dance floor. She would have been content to stay in the dream like state, because it was hard to believe it real, but a horn sounded.

"It is time that I take you home," he murmured to her, his arm right around her waist. "It's time you come see and rule Blackrock with me, my princess."

He released her and took her hand, pulling it to rest in the crook of his arm. He guided her from the dance floor and led her towards the double doors that led out of the ballroom. Someone handed her bouquet, there was a gathering of princesses behind her and without a further thought on it she turned and tossed it behind her. She wasn't even aware who caught it.

She was led through the front entry and out it, down the stairs to the waiting black carriage. There was a gathering outside, more than just the royalty that attended her wedding. She spotted faces of the staff that helped raise her, the maids that helped keep her room clean and tended to her. The man that tended the horses and his son were close by, even Constable Miles stood stately next to the guards that were at attention to see her off.

The lump lodged in her chest shifted down to her stomach and she turned, as the door to the carriage was opened for her, to look at all the faces of the people that served her father. There was tearful smiles, waves and salutes to her. She had no idea that so many of people would care to see her off.

"Thank you," she said weakly, though loud enough to be heard. "Thank you for everything."

They boarded the carriage and with one final look she saw all that she knew and loved be shut away with a close of the door. The windows of the carriage were darkened and it made it difficult to see out them. She tried not to let her emotions show, but they choked her. She whimpered, but found enough strength to bite back a sob.

The carriage began to move and after a moment it was up in the air. There was the distinct sound of fireworks and she winced, closing her eyes. She knew who would have been forced to conjure the fireworks. Surely they could have forgone it. Did they have to torment him with something so trivial?

She released a shaky breath and relaxed back into the leather seat and tried to settle her warring nerves. She wasn't sure how long the trip would be and she feared how long she would be trapped in such a small space with her-her husband. She felt tears slid down one cheek then the other. It was done. She had failed to find a way out and now it was done.

She fought the urge to look at him even though she could feel his eyes on her. He reached forward and she felt his knuckle gently brush away her tears from one cheek. She couldn't bite back the sob that found its way past her mouth. Her shoulders shook and for a moment she lost control of herself as reality crashed into her chest. It seized her heart and squeezed, it hurt so much. He didn't seem to offer her any sort of comfort outside of the light caress of her cheek.

He allowed her to weep, his hand moving from her cheek to brush her hair aside. She hazarded a look at him, afraid of what she would see. His expression looked to be sympathetic. She ached for comfort, leaving all that she was behind. His hand brushed down the length of her back and seemed to be pulling her closer. His arms enveloped her and pulled her close. She rested her head against his chest, trying to settle her emotions.

His lips brushed against her brow. She took a shaky breath and looked up at him, feeling unsure of where her path would go from here. He brushed his hand against her cheek again, before cupping it and tilting her face upwards. He trailed his lips down the length of her face, caressing her cheek. His mouth finally caught hers, the kiss gentle and beckoning.

It felt like the kiss he had given her at the command of the Chaplain that had wed them. It was soft and contained no demands, he didn't press for more than just simple kisses. A hunger coiled through her, the careful kisses he gave her only afforded a taste of his lips and she found herself wanting more. She pressed further against him, a hand against his chest, and she swept her tongue out to garner a taste of him. It seemed to have been enough for him, he delved past her lips and curled his tongue around hers.

A hand cupped her breast and she heard a growl as the layers of dress and corset prevented him from really toying with it. The kisses continued then there was a loud bang. She jerked back and saw him strike the cover of the carriage another two times.

"What?" She struggled to figure out what he was doing.

He looked away from her and she saw a small window slide open at the front of the carriage, "Yes, sire?"

"Take us to a higher altitude. In the event she struggles or screams, I don't want to startle any villages we might fly over," he said calmly.

"Yes, sire," the driver slid the window closed again and the carriage tilted just slightly as it was drive to go higher up.

Her stomach dropped and she stared at him in growing panic, "What?"

* * *

How much hate do you think I'll get for this?


	14. Chapter 14

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: And this is a serious warning. The start of this chapter contains content that is of a HARD M rating. It not only contains material that is sexual, but the consent is dubious on one account and out right rape in another. If reading rape is of any sort of trigger for you, I would highly suggest that you skip it. Don't read it. If you do read it, then you ignored this warning and hear by made it so I don't have to feel bad for offending you.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

Don't worry. It'll move by more quickly. You're just gonna have to deal with the lack of Sofia/Cedric for another chapter or two. I'll get there, I promise promise!

* * *

"Take us to a higher altitude. In the event she struggles or screams, I don't want to startle any villages we might fly over," he said calmly.

"Yes, sire," the driver slid the window closed again and the carriage tilted just slightly as it was drive to go higher up.

Her stomach dropped and she stared at him in growing panic, "What?"

His hand was at her back, as if to steady her, she felt fingers slide between the lace edge and swept along the top of her back. "I have done as you bade, I have behaved myself. I even went so far to cease my seduction of you," he spoke evenly.

"Can you not wait until we get to your castle?"

"I have waited long enough," there was a sudden sharpness pressing against her back, it didn't break the skin but it skimmed along it. She sat up straighter, a fine tremor going through her. "I will give you a choice, however, I intend to take what I want one way or another," he spoke nonchalantly, as if he weren't about to hurt her. "You can fight me and I will destroy this lovely gown you are wearing. Or, you can allow me to have what I want. I don't intend to bother with fighting the laces of the gown or corset," the sharpness shifted from her skin and she felt the dress start to loosen, he was slicing through the laced up back. "But, if you do not fight me I will have it mended."

"You agreed you wouldn't raise your hand against me in violence," she said it harshly, wanting nothing more than to have her wand on her. Unfortunately, she foolishly put it away in one of the trunks.

"I don't intend to be violent," he smiled, while he looked handsome it felt as if she were spying at a snake in the grass. "I intend for it to be very enjoyable. For at least one of us." He had began to work the buttons lose to his jacket. "Do you intend to put up a fight?"

She could feel him cutting through her gown and corset, fear rising up on her skin as the blade that he used brushed against her skin. She looked away from him, staring ahead at the empty seat. "I don't want this," her voice shook. "But, I won't fight."

"Very good," he purred, leaning forward to kiss her cheek then trail his mouth down to her neck. She felt tears start to course down her cheeks, but she held her head high and remained sitting up straight as he cut through her garments then went about removing his own. Once the blade ended at her tailbone, he shed his coat and then pulled the white pressed tunic over his head with the undershirt. The clothing was tossed carelessly to the floor of the carriage. "I'm taking this to mean," he breathed against her ear as she sat stoic, "That you won't be a willing participant and I will be forced to do all the work?"

She considered not answering, fear and anger now flowing through her blood like fire. She turned her head to glare at him, "As far as I am concerned you are forcing yourself on me. Am I wrong to make that assessment?"

He pulled back just enough to see her expression, he chuckled lightly, "If that's the way you deem to look at it, I won't argue it. It just makes this a little less enjoyable." He pulled the sleeves of her dress down, then fisted a hand in the bodice grasping the corset as well. He jerked the gown down pulling it from her torso and exposing her breasts to his gaze. "If this is how you want to take this, then that's how you will. It won't deter me," he said evenly. "I did advise you when you agreed to this that this was what I wanted."

Once her arms were free she went to cover her chest, suddenly feeling as if he stripped her of more than just her clothing. "I didn't realize you would be so cruel," she clipped, her anger was diminished by the waiver in her voice. Somewhere in the back of her mind was a small voice that screamed, 'you were right! You were right all along!'

"I would hardly say that this qualifies as cruel," he had paused in his undressing of her to kick off his boots and start to untie and loosen the laces of his breeches. "But, I do suppose if I were on the receiving end of this I could see the cruelty in it." He didn't wait, he pushed his breeches down and off, depositing them into the pile of clothing, "I could tell you I have done worse. Though, I imagine that won't be much of a comforting thought for you." He hitched an arm around her waist and with one sharp pull he managed the gown down her hips. It pooled around her ankles, but was caught on her petticoats. He cursed lightly in impatience and set her down, reaching behind her with a rip he managed to get the petticoats to loosen. Another sharp jerk and she was down to nothing but her stockings.

"Please," because now fear was turning into panic and she wasn't sure what to do. This was it for her.

One of his hands went between her thighs, forcing them apart just enough so his fingers could toy with her sex. "I've waited long enough," he repeated, leaning against her as he captured her mouth with his. He wasn't forceful with his kisses and his hand worried to attempt to kindle something between her thighs, but the fear that clung to her did nothing.

At some point he pulled her to the floor of the carriage, impatience becoming more apparent as she didn't seem to respond. She held herself still, not at all fighting as she promised, but not giving any quarter. In apparent frustration he growled, "I've attempted to be giving. But if this is how you intend to do things you will find that it will not be comfortable for you." He was between her thighs, his erection pressed against her sex, "I didn't have the desire to hurt you."

Her brows drew together and she didn't know. What was he talking about? How was anything he had done to her thus far be considered giving? He was over her and his brows drawn together, he shifted one of her legs over a hip then pressed forward. It seemed that, as soon as he pierced her she receded. She didn't feel anything or hear any of the noises he made as he moved above her. Her hands grasped the purple gem on her chest and held it tightly, and somehow it kept her mind safe from the things he did to her.  
She came back to herself with a throbbing pain between her thighs, he was still above her though he had pulled his flaccid cock from her. His eyes were narrowed and he watched her carefully, for what she didn't know.

"This isn't how I planned for things to go," he said with a wince.

Her breath hitched and she realized that she had been crying, even though up until now, she had felt nothing. "But you decided to do it anyway," she answered, her tears made her voice sound rough.

"No," he backed away, sitting on the floor and reclining back against the seat. "No, that's not what I meant."

She quickly backed away from him, shifting to the other side and putting as much space between them as she could. She hugged her knees to her chest and used that as a means to cover her nudity. "What do you mean?"

He grimaced and found his coat among their discarded clothing, he threw it at her and looked away, "Let us not dwell upon it." He settled his expression into something more arrogant, "I'm sure I will be hard pressed to find away, but I will do what I can to make up for this … debacle."

She stared at him for a moment then, because there was nothing more she could do, she took his coat and slipped it over her shoulders. "That was my first time... if you are looking for a way to make me forgive you for it, you might as well not bother," she looked away from him, hugging herself. "You should have considered the consequences of your actions before you even started to touch me."

He hummed lightly in agreement, "Hindsight is an unfortunate thing."

"Where is the knife?"

"What knife?" He sounded curious and when she looked at him again, there was something telling on his face. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"What did you use to cut my dress open?"

He opened his hands and showed her his empty palms, "I have no knife." She stared at him in confusion; there had been a sharpness at her back she had felt it. The only thing he did was return her gaze, something in it daring.

The window above her shoulder slid open, cutting through the tension he had created. "Sire, we are approaching Blackrock."

"I don't have the desire to parade through the mountain, land us on the ledge. There should be the appropriate amount of space to land a carriage. You can send word ahead for us to be expected," he said, his voice full of command.

"Aye, sire," and the window slid closed again.

"There will be a party waiting to greet us," he informed her, digging through their clothing to find her shoes. He offered them to her, "The ledge has a bit of, well, it has a bit of debris on it. It's probably in your best interest to wear your shoes."

"What about clothing?"

"I will have your dress mended for you," he assured her. "You don't need to worry about modesty, if you are so concerned feel free to wear my jacket out." He shrugged a shoulder as if it were nothing, "You appearing before them less than decent will not offend anyone."

"It offends me," she said thickly. The idea of wearing his clothing after he forced himself upon her wasn't something she enjoyed.

"Then it is something you can either deal with or find a way to extract revenge," he smiled tightly at her. "If it's the latter I'll look forward to it. It will be well deserved."

Their conversation halted when the carriage came to a bumpy landing then rolled to a halt. The door opened and she huddled further into his jacket, watching in amazement as he stood and exited the carriage without care or concern for the fact that he was nude. There wasn't cheering or anything that gave her worry that there would be a large party of people, but she heard the distinct sound of armored people standing at attention.

He turned to her and raised an eyebrow, "Do you intend to stay here?"

"I don't want to walk out in front of your people without clothing on," she tried to snap at him, but her voice shook.

He seemed to roll his eyes and he looked to someone just outside the carriage, "General Razorgore, your cloak if you please." A cloak was handed to him and he in turn offered it to her. "That should provide you with adequate cover. As I promised I will see to that your gown will be mended," he cast an eye over his shoulder. "When you unload the carriages see to it that Petramia gets the white gown. I'm sure she could use the entertainment."

She took it from him, hastily shedding his jacket and wrapping the cloak around her form. It swallowed her whole and helped mask the scent of him on her skin. There was a similar smokey smell to the cloth that surrounded her now that she couldn't place. Curious as to who had offered it to him, she slipped her shoes on and at his prompting, she moved to step out of the carriage.

The platform had a small array of creatures lined up to receive them. The creature closest to the carriage appeared to be a cross between a dragon and a centaur; he had the head and snout of a dragon and was covered in scales, he had a chest like a man that blended down to a body that had four legs and a scaled tail. He sported armor and looked at her as curiously as she looked at him. Behind him and the rest of the small crowd were two beasts that were similarly strangely built. They had the reptilian head and tail but the form of a man, they towered over everyone as if they were giants.

The more human looking creatures were hardly human. There was small group of willowy humanoids with pointed ears and glowing eyes, they looked like elves but not at all like the elves she remembered from Elvenmoor. Another group that seemed to glower and glare were gray skinned and fierce looking, their jaws jutted forward and there was sharp looking tusks poking up from their lower lip. They were larger than Victor and appeared to be walls of muscle in their primitive looking armor. Then there were the shorter folk of the group, they too were gray skinned and they were stockily built.

"I present you, Princess Sofia of Enchancia," Victor boasted beside her.

She looked around in a daze, trying to take in all the vast differences in the creatures that she saw. At his boast though, they all seemed to make an effort of saluting her in one way or another. Standing tall, or as tall as they could, and placing a fist on their chest. There was roars over head and she looked up, seeing dragons wheeling about in the air in great aerial displays. She was overwhelmed.

A hand pressed at her back and she was propelled forward by Victor as he gestured about him, "Princess this is Blackrock Mountain." The ledge they had landed on appeared to have once been stately, with great stone pillars and a large throne to one side, but there appeared to have been some sort of fight on it. She wasn't sure how recent, two pillars appeared to be smashed from their place. She was guided to a large stone archway, still in something of a daze.

There was a sound behind them and she looked to see one of the delicate looking elves down on a knee, "Sire, we have pressing things to discuss."

"Fall in, Osbidia, we can talk as we walk," he said nonchalantly.

She listened as she was directed through a series of corridors and up then down a set of stairs. If she tried to pay attention to the path she was sure that she would get lost in all the twists and turns. "Onyxia made visits while you were gone," the elf that followed them spoke. Her voice was musical and nearing hypnotic, she found it hard not to peer at her over her shoulder. "She has manage to retrieve the remainder of the clutch that you had pilfered."

"Did we suffer any casualties?"

"They were inconsequential," she answered. "She found Atramedes, though she did him no harm. Maloriak received a punishment, however."

"Atramedes was a failure, I can't say that I'm opposed to any sort of punishment Maloriak may have received from her," they paused at a set of double doors, he waved a hand at them and they drifted open. "For the time being we will leave my sister and her clutch be. We have a bit of a sensitive project now ahead of us, I'm sure if she finds out about it things may become dire." He gestured for her to enter, turning to look back at the elf behind them. "She will not be made aware of it."

She stepped into the room, noting with a bit of apprehension that it was in fact a bedroom. She stood at the foot a large bed and turned to look at Victor and the elf he had referred to as Osbidia, "Sire, she was already made aware of your treaty with Enchanica. I have come to believe that she may also be aware of your-" the elf met her gaze for a long moment, before returning her full attention to him, "Your engagement. I believe she may have informants in your ranks."

He turned to look at her, "This is something that will require my attention. As rude as it may be, I will be leaving you here to adjust on your own. I will place a guard outside the door, if you are in need of anything he or she will assist you. Your belongings will be brought to you. Please, make yourself at home." He turned, seeming unconcerned that he had brought her here and was leaving to see to his castle without a stitch of clothing on. The elf that had joined them didn't seemed to be bothered by it either. "Please, stay here. Once I am able, I will be sure to give you a proper tour of the mountain."

She could only nod, unable to find her voice. She watched as the two of them left her, closing the large doors behind them. He told her to make herself at home, but she couldn't. She had her arms wrapped about her and clung to the borrowed cloak that offered her modesty. She could only stand there and try to digest all that had happened in seemingly such a short amount of time.

She felt something begin to drift down her inner thigh and she shuddered, feeling the meager contents of her stomach start to turn. She didn't know where a chamber pot was and she did her best to swallow the urge to be sick.

The door opening offered her something of a distraction. She watched as two stocky creatures hefted one of her trunks between them. They eyed her with the same open curiosity that she watched them. "Och! Princess!" One with a large swath of beard that fell to cover his chest, "We'll be back with the other, wee lass." They placed the trunk down, "Be just a minute and ye will have all yer things." She watched as they left again, then returned in the same fashion with her other trunk. "I was expectin' some more luggage for such a pretty thing," the one that spoke before piped up.

She watched them unabashed as to how it may be construed, but unable to look away. When they set her other trunk down she managed to remember some bit of herself, "Thank you."

They both look startled and looked at her in amazement, "Aye, lass."

"What are you?" She asked in a hushed tone.

They exchanged a look between themselves then the outspoken one stepped forward, "We be dwarves, lass."

"Of the Dark Iron clan," the other specified. He had rusted red hair pulled back in a short tail, while he didn't sport a beard hair seemed to be covering the majority of his face, save his chin. "Our people were born in these mountains."

"O-oh," she said uneasily, she swallowed hard and offered them a slightly awkward bow. She would have curtsied but her lack of dress made her refrain from doing such a motion. "Thank you for bringing my things to me."

"Och! Lass, it was what we were ordered to do," the first one spoke again. "Aye," he spoke low to his friend. "Wee lass be lookin' a bit pale ta me."  
"As pale as humans can get," the other observed. "Get ol' Brigidan in 'ere and she'll have the girl set to rights."

They nodded together, "You wait right 'ere for us, love. We'll be gettin' ye sumpthin' to make ye a little less sickly." With that the two of them exited the room once again. They left the two doors open and she watched as they moved out of view. She turned and took a slight step towards the door, feeling for a fleeting second that she might stumble.  
She wasn't left waiting long, the two dwarves returned with another. The two males lingered by the door, the one they brought with them was quite obviously female. She shared their odd color scheme in skin and she had thick hair tied back in a unique braid that went down her back, "Look it the wee lass, Brigy. She be needin' some strong ale to put some color to her skin."

"Aye, aye," the female said thickly. She had brought a tray with her, on it a steaming bowl of stew, a cup, and a flask that had a dark crimson liquid. "I'll see to her. You lot can bugger off now," she said with a sigh. She took the tray to the desk that set off to the right of the door. She picked up the flask and brought it over to her, "Ye alright, girl?"  
"I... I don't know," she looked down at her.

"He gave ye a hard bit?" She offered her the flask, "Drink a bit, it'll make yer insides feel better. Then take the rest of it and rub it into yer tender bits. If he were rough wit ye, like I bet he was, it will make the hurtin' go away."

She took the flask, "Thank you."

"Aye, lass, I'll have them fetch ye some water so ye can get yerself clean. It'll make ye feel better, too," she took a hand, reaching into the cloak to find her free one. She gave her a light pat, seeming to judge her based on the feel of her palm, "Ye look like ye could use a bite. I brought ye some soup wit a bit of bread. Soup has no meat innit, so don't ye worry."

She took a swig of the flask and she could immediately feel the affects. She sighed in relief and gave the female dwarf a weak smile, "Thank you."

"I got me own duties to tend to, ye need me, I be Brigidan. Ye tell the oaf at the door and he'll fetch me," she said sternly before walking to the door. "Ye fight 'im," she turned to look. "It nae be a good idea ta fight 'im. Ye be trustin' me on this, we dwarves had been strugglin' to take back this mountain fir a time and have nae managed it. He wants sumpthin' he's gonna be takin' it."

She nodded and watched the female dwarf leave, pausing to instruct the guard she couldn't see to get the water that she needed. With that the doors closed, she assumed to offer her privacy. As she seemed to return back to herself, she sat on the bed and remembered the dwarf's advice about using the potion on her 'tender bits.' With a grimace, she poured a bit of the red liquid into her hand and pressed it between her thighs. She rubbed the liquid against the outer part of her lips then pressed her fingers between them doing her best to rub it around and into her opening. The soreness began to diminish and she found some relief, at least, in some form. She made use of the rest of the potion, making sure to get as much of it into and onto her battered sex as she could.

She was still in the process of easing relief on her tenderness when the doors were thrown open. She stood up quickly and covered herself as one of the large, dragon faced creatures came in bearing a large cauldron of water. It didn't pay her any heed, but trudged past her to what looked to be a bath. She watched as he poured the water into a tub that was sunk into the floor. He turned to her and growled low, "That enough?"

She carefully edged past him, clinging to the cloak she wore. She peered in to see the large tub over half full. She swallowed hard, "Y-yes. Thank you."

It gave her an odd look, before nodding. "There is a hearth you can use to heat the water," his voice was a rough hiss. He pointed a large clawed hand towards the tub, "If you need help, Insidion is outside your door and he will assist you."

She nodded again, watching him leave. Each of them seemed to be surprised when she thanked them. She wondered if Victor treated his people with respect. She went to spy the hearth that he referred to and noticed the steps that led down to it. There was also a chamber pot and screen that offered privacy. She went back to the main room, finding her trunks. She opened one and searched through the pockets in the lid before she went to search the other. She found her wand and went back to the attached bathroom. She found wood in the hearth attached to the tub and carefully cast a small flame to it.

Once that was done, she went about finding the necessary items to bathe. She found towels and clothes to wash with. When she found something resembling soap, she gathered the items and went to the tub. She set the pile down close to the edge, setting her wand on top of it. She shed the cloak and very carefully lowered herself down into the water. It hadn't warmed up much since she lit the fire, but it didn't stop her. There was something that just seemed to cling to her skin, she grabbed the soap and the cloth then began to scrub herself clean.

She became intent on her work, so intent that she hadn't noticed her audience. She didn't even notice him until he stepped into her line of sight, she froze and looked up his form. He hadn't bothered to dress and she had the unfortunate uneasy feeling at seeing that he was excited. He watched her intently for a moment before stepping down into the bath with her, "Did it disturb you so much that you feel the need to scrub me from you?"

She paused, noting the red tent to her skin, "I don't expect that you would understand."

He reclined back against the wall, relaxing as he looked at her, "Perhaps not. Tell me what to do to fix it."

"You want me to tell you how to make it okay that you raped me?"

"No," he said evenly, "I want to know what I can do to … make up for it, if you will." He looked confused, his brows together. "I hadn't realized the consequences to what I was doing until it was too late. Normally," he looked away from her. "I wouldn't care and for some reason, now, I do." He looked uncomfortable then, "If you want to hurt me in return, do so. However, I do want you to know that even if my advances were unwanted there were no stipulations in the agreement that we made. I wasn't violent. I will not return you to Enchancia purely because I had a lapse judgment."

"Is this how sex will be? If I don't want it, you'll take me anyway?"

"You didn't seem to adverse to it before, when it was merely experimentation," he met her gaze again. "Was it the idea of fucking in a carriage that bothered you? Or did the idea of me fucking you that appalled you?"

"I wasn't ready," she answered fearfully. "You cut my dress apart, you were vicious and frightening."

He looked remorseful for a moment then looked away, "I don't want you to be afraid of me. I desire you, I want you. I will have you though I would prefer you to be a willing partner. I don't have the desire to force myself on you or fuck a crying girl." He growled lowly, "Normally, I would not care and I would take you to my heart's content whether or not you wanted me in return." He cast a glare at her from the corner of his eye, "I don't know how you managed to do this to me."

"I've not done anything to you," she argued.

He waved a hand, as if to dismiss the conversation. "That's neither here nor there," he said with a sigh. "It has been a long day and an even longer night. I think it's time that we retire." He stood and got out of the bathtub, walking around it to fetch his own towel. "Come, you've scrubbed yourself enough anymore and you may break the skin."  
She sighed and stood, putting the soap and cloth on the stone edge of the tub. She carefully pulled herself from the tub, picking up her wand and wrapping herself up in the towel. She dried herself off then went about delaying the inevitable. He would want her to join him in bed, as he had slept with her back in Enchancia. She took the time to clean her teeth, relieve herself, and then she wandered into the bedroom. She went to her trunks, ignoring him where he lounged on the bed, and began to search for a nightgown and fresh pair of bloomers. She dressed then turned to the desk where the tray of food and the cup was. She would stall more.

She sat down to eat the cold soup, it was made from potatoes and she imagined if she had eaten it when it was hot that it would have been better. She took a sip of the liquid in cup and nearly spit it out. It was bitter and most definitely not water. There was a snort of laughter and she looked at him, he looked amused at her, "They gave you ale. Dwarves do that, they think alcohol should be served with every meal."

She looked at the murky liquid in the cup, it wasn't that it was bad tasting. It just had a bitterness to it and a shock of alcohol that she hadn't expected. She sipped lightly at it and could feel a slightly burn to throat, as it hit her stomach it seemed to warm her. By the time she finished it all her thoughts and fears became muddled, the warmth in her stomach radiated out. She set the cup down on the tray and stood, wavering on her feet. One cup of their ale and she was drunk?

She carefully made her way to the bed and sat on it, staying close to the edge. She pulled the blanket and sheet back and laid back, trying to relax after the trying day she had. He was behind her, on top of the blankets, but she felt the heat that he gave off through them. "Allow me to show you how it should have felt," his mouth was near her ear, his tongue curled along the shell of her ear.

"I don't want you to touch me," she whimpered, because even though what he had done before still weighed on her, having him at her back hardly touching her but breathing and speaking in that tone made her clench her thighs together. How did he manage this?

"I will not hurt you again," he breathed and she whimpered, though it wasn't out of fear. It was more so out of the fact that she seemed to respond this time. Had there been something in the ale? Or were her inhibitions watered down with just one cup? His mouth was on her jaw now and she struggled to hold onto the last threads of her dignity, trying to deny how he was able to create these feelings in her now even after he hurt her.

He leaned into her from behind, through the blankets, making her feel his desire for her. He pulled her rump back against his hips and ground his erection against her. His hand drifted down to her mound, applying just enough pressure for her to feel it in her core. She relaxed against him, remembering the words of the female dwarf. If she fought it, it would be worse. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to survive if she was forced to face him at his worse.

So, she gave in and allowed him to have his way. He seemed to sense it because he threw the blanket out of the way and pressed her onto her hand was between her thighs, but found her bloomers in the way. He pulled them down and out of his way before he cupped her heat. Fingers delved past her lips to stoke the growing fire that had already begun to kindle.

He shifted down her form and before she could think to utter a protest he had a leg on each shoulder. Her nightgown road up and she was afforded a view of him burying his face against her, she tensed for a moment before she felt his tongue press past her lower lips and lap at the length of her opening. It was hard to resist or ignore, when his tongue traced the bundle of nerves at the top of her sex she couldn't keep from quivering. He parted her lips to get better access and began to tease that little button with his tongue.

She couldn't keep from reacting. Her hips rolled upward to encourage him and her hands found their way into his hair. He drove her along drawing lazy circles on her sensitive bits and toying with the out part of her vulva, her inner muscles clenched and she hungered for more. His mouth closed around her clit and he sucked on her hard, her hips bucked and he manipulated her into crumbling to pieces. She panted as she started to reconnect only to have him start anew casting fire against her sensitized nerves.

He pressed a finger into her and lapped at her, she started rolling her hips against his mouth and hand. Satisfied, he went back to toying with her clit and it wasn't long before she crumbled again. He pressed on, even as she started to groan out a protest. The feeling of the orgasm seemed to extend with direction of his hand and mouth and when she was sure she would truly come to pieces. As if sensing how undone she was, he moved up her form. Before she could reconnect, he slid into her.

"This," he growled above her, trembling as he held still. "This is how it was supposed to be," he shook hard as she clenched around him.

It hurt, but the pain wasn't as intense as it had been in the carriage. It was more of a discomfort of being stretched and she felt incredibly full. He seemed to be waiting for something, there was a fine tremble in his arms and his face showed some strain from it. His eyes were clenched closed and his teeth bared just slightly. There was an ache, a throb, and she clutched at him. She wasn't sure what he was waiting for, but there was more to it than this.

Her fingers dug into his back and he seemed to twitch, as if he were struggling with something. Then he started to withdrawal, slowly. The feel of him pulling out startled her, she laid still as his cock seemed to brush over something within her. He was nearly out of her when he immediately thrust back into her and the swiftness that he hit that inner something drew a soft cry from her. Her eyes closed, focusing instead on the feelings that he created rather than what he was doing. The discomfort she felt seemed to melt away in favor of this new feeling. He began a light, careful rhythm, similar to those nights where he would rub against her. Only, this magnified the feelings. He was in her, he filled her to the brim and she clung to him.

This is how it was supposed to be?

Her fingers dug into his back and she heard him growl lowly, felt him throb within her. The overwhelming burn from before, when his head was between her thighs, only seemed to be greater. Instinct drove her, her legs wrapped around his hips and rolled them up to meet his. She was close to another crash, it was right within her grasp. Something told her it would be so much more than the others. She struggled to move in a dance she didn't understand, striving to grasp something just within reach and just as she could get her figurative fingers on it she shattered. All feeling and thought went to the wayside, focused was purely on where he was joined with her. When she regained herself she felt him trembling and the surety of the rhythm he had created began to stutter. He cursed low by her ear, a word she couldn't understand, then she felt the hot liquid erupt in her. He kept thrusting, once then twice more, before he seemed melted onto her.

He seemed to struggle, leaning heavily on her. "That," he panted as if he had been in some sort of battle. "That was how it was supposed to be," he leaned his brow against hers and she found that she was out of breath, too.

Though it may be in part due to the fact that he was laying on her, "You're heavy."

"Forgive me," he said with a chuckle. "I didn't expect that you would be able to leave me feeling so weak," he pushed himself up on to his elbows, leaving it so that they were still connected. He had become soft and she thought, hoped, that he would be satisfied. "Would you be averse to doing this again?"

"I was hoping you would let me sleep," she said carefully.

"Not now," he laughed and then groaned as he pulled himself from her. "I think sleep is definitely in order," he moved to the side, though he stayed close to her. He buried his nose against her neck, "I asked because I feel as if I am growing addicted to you."

"Be gentle," she closed her eyes as the lack of sleep started to pull on her.

"Yes," he said in a low purr, turning her face so that he could kiss her. "You are a precious treasure that I will not tarnish again."

That was a promising thought, she sighed and gave into exhaustion and tumbled into sleep.

She was surrounded and warm, comfortable. Strong arms were wrapped around her and she felt a warm body holding her close. Her brows drew together, "Did you forget to leave my bed again?" She stretched against him, feeling a slight ache between her thighs. She knew who was beside her, his scent clung to her and her bedding.

He hummed and she felt his face buried against the crown of her head. "No," he murmured, his hand running up her thigh to rest on her hip. "This is my bed," he chuckled then, "Our bed I should say."

Her eyes opened and she sat up, despite the arms that held her close. She looked around the room and discovered that, much to her chagrin, that the previous night hadn't been a dream. "It really happened?"

"You slept hard," he observed. "But, I assure you it wasn't a dream." He sat up beside her, "All the unfortunate details from the previous day did occur." He studied her expression carefully, "While I feel like I have shown you what you should expect from sex between us, I'm not fool enough to think that would make up for my … transgression on the way here." He took one of her hands into his, "I need you to tell me how to make up for it."

Her brows drew together and she watched him carefully, "You don't do something like that to someone and expect them to be able to forgive it."

"I didn't think you were the type of woman to hold grudges," he complained before moving to get out of the bed. He stood and walked into the bathroom with a sound of frustration following him.

"This isn't a petty thing that I am holding against you," she snapped after him. Apparently sleep was what she needed to get her nerve back, "You can't just take everything you want and not expect consequences."

He stepped back into the main bedroom, dressed his dark armor and a flaming crown above his head. He offered her a smile, "I am facing the consequences of my actions. It is what has kept me from pouncing you now and having my way again. Restraint is not something I enjoy practicing," he went to the door, taking a moment as he seemed to consider something. "There are a few things that I have to take care of. I will need a week, at the very least, to prepare the mountain for you to be able to move about freely in. Given when that is done I will give you the tour I promised." He looked back at her, "Give you the opportunity to see the golems we discussed in our letters."

She pulled the blanket up to cover her breasts, though it probably wouldn't do anything to deter him. "I look forward to seeing them," she hesitated. "If you're going to expect me to stay in here, what am I going to do?"

He waved a hand to the walls, which were lined with shelves filled with books. "Every book I could get my hands on are at your disposal. Many of them, I might add, are tomes of magic. There are at least one or two that are well… of great importance to some." He smiled tightly at that, "And they may not remain on the shelf for very long. I would suggest you take the time to pursue them. If you require anything Obsidia and Insidion are just outside your door. If you are in need of anything feel free to ask one of them to retrieve it for you." He opened the doors and stepped out into the hallway, pausing to speak to her guards, "See to it that she is fed properly."

"Yes sire," a male and a female voice answered. Then the doors drifted shut and she was left alone.

She stood, feeling discomfort between her thighs but it wasn't as bad as it had been the first time. She went to the bathroom and made an effort of trying to maintain something of her usual routine. She cleaned herself up, taking care to cleaning up her sex, then brushed out the previous days events from her hair. She relieved herself then went about finding something she could easily dress herself in. As she was digging through the complicated gowns that had been packed for her she found her journal. The one her sorcerer had created for her. She set it on the bed and found a simple dress she could manage to get on by herself.

Once dressed, she picked up the journal then went to the desk and found an ink pot and quill in one of the drawers. There was a temptation to pursue the shelves as he had bid her to do, but first she had thoughts she needed to express. She sat down in the wooden chair and opened the book. She studied the contents, looking for anything new he might have added then paused.

'Damn you,' a message read. 'Damn you for doing that to me and not giving me the chance to even try to save you. Damn your logic! Damn your insufferable need to do everything that is right!' It made her heart hurt, "Damn you for making me fall for you and then kissing me like that only to have to leave! Damn you!' She tried to not let the tears spill over her cheeks, she had cried enough. His anger was righteous though. 'Please, tell me you're alright.'

She laughed shakily, of course he would get out all of his anger then show concern. She dipped the quill into the ink and began to write, 'I'm alright. I survived.' She considered how much she should tell him, he wouldn't like it to know that Victor had forced himself on her. She didn't like to think of it. 'I survived,' she wrote again, because seeing the words seemed to make her feel better.

'There's a whole lot more here than I thought there would be. There are so many creatures that I've never seen before and I don't even know what they are. There are dragons. A lot of them. There are also elves and dwarves (they said they were of the Dark Iron clan).

I keep feeling like dad agreed to this without really knowing what he agreed to. Though, I can't say that I've ever really knew him to make such rash decisions without good reason.'

The doors opened, a slender woman walked in carrying the dress she had worn the night before, just after her appeared to be human and had lovely black hair that flowed down her back, she wore black leather breeches and a crimson colored tunic. "Princess?" She turned to spy her at the desk then gave her a deep bow. "I am Petramia, Lord Nefarian ordered me to mend your gown," she showed her the back of the gown with a flourish.

She hadn't been sure of the damage he had done to her gown, but she shivered at the memory of the sharpness of the blade he used to cut through it shot through her mind. "Thank you, Petramia," she took great care to remember the girl's name. Noting the similarities that all the human looking creatures seemed to have. Black hair, crimson colored eyes, dark skin. Were they all related? Did she refer to Victor as Nefarian? She decided to file that away and focus on the pretty white gown the other girl seemed to be admiring. "I really appreciate you taking the time to mend it for me," she started warily. "I hate to say this, but I don't think it's something I could wear again."

She saw the other girl's gaze narrow, "Why not? The dress is beautiful."

She swallowed hard, "If you like it, you are more than welcome to keep it. It's a beautiful gown. I'm sure it will look gorgeous on you."

The woman she spoke to looked unsure, "I can keep it?"

She smiled brightly at her, staying seated at the desk. "If he questions it, I will let him know that it was a gift."

The other woman looked struck, as if she hadn't anticipated kindness from her. She bowed to her deeply, "I pledge my wing and claw to you, my lady."

"Petramia," there was a hiss and she turned to look at the door, seeing the elf Obsidia standing in the doorway. "That is enough, give her the dress and go back to your duties."

"She said I could keep it," the human woman started to argue, holding the gown to her chest.

"I did," she piped up, not wanting to create a problem even though she was confused. "She put the hard work into mending it and… and I don't think I will be able to wear it again. It would be a waste, s-she should keep it." She received a dark look from the elf and suddenly felt nervous, "If you're worried about what Victor will say, I will tell him and I'll give the reasoning behind it."

"That won't be necessary," the elf said stoically. "She did as she was commanded to do, He will not punish her for you giving her a gift." She nodded to the human girl and she quietly walked out of the room, holding the gown close. "I have summoned a meal for you, it will be arriving shortly. Are you in need of anything, Princess?"

She started to shake her head then paused, feeling fear clench her. "He punishes you?"

The elf's expression didn't change, except for an feathered eyebrow raising. "Only when it is deemed necessary, my lady," she gave her a slight incline of her head. And, as if she could sense it, "Your fear is unwarranted. If He said He would not harm you then He will not." With that she turned and walked out of the room, closing the large doors behind her.

"He has already," she spoke to the empty room and turned back to her journal. There hadn't been a reply to her thoughts, but she took the moment to write down the new findings before the torrent of emotions could trap her. 'One of his people called him Nefarian and pledged their wing and claw to me. Is anything what it appears to be?'

* * *

I had some issues that kept me from posting this sooner, sorry for the long wait. I'm trying to light a fire under my butt before I get too distracted by other things. But I'm going to start wrapping this up. Soon™.


	15. Chapter 15

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: The start of this chapter contains material that is not appropriate for some audiences. Don't worry, if you're of the other audience. It's just sex.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

This one is a short one, because

* * *

The days following her arrival to Blackrock became easier, though there were several things that would keep her on edge. She was confined to the bedroom, unable to explore the castle built into the mountain. He promised her a tour. He also promised not to hurt her again, however it didn't deter him from striving seduce her. On a daily basis. He would often come back into the room and begin to undress while he had her attention. More often than not, where ever in the room she occupied her would join her and draw her into allowing him to have his way. He made extreme efforts to ensure that she enjoyed herself, even if the frequency of his desire for her might have been a bit much for her.

This particular morning she had awoke with his hands seeming everywhere and, before she could protest, he had warmed her to the point that she was damp enough for him to easily slid into her. And that's what he did. She lost track of the time or how long they had spent in bed, him thrusting into her until she would be swept away by the waves of pleasure. It was easy to get lost in it. He had claimed before that he was skilled in this and he hadn't been lying as far as she could tell. She clung to the sheets beneath her, moaning as he rotated his hips at just the right angle to make her quake. She was so close to being swept away again.

She could feel him inside her, throbbing,and she knew that the this would soon draw to an end. It was enough to get her to respond in kind, grinding her hips to his and reaching forward to touch him. He shuddered and stilled, balancing himself on one hand and using the other to grip her hips. "Not yet," he hissed. "Not yet, not yet."

She whimpered, "How long do you intend to draw this out?"

She felt the throbbing of his cock start to subside and she knew he would continue once again. He gave her a grin, "I could be here all day." He punctuated each word with a thrust. "If it were feasible I would stay right here. With you wrapped around me." He leaned down, resting his weight on his elbows now, where previously he had been holding himself up with hands so that there was a gap between them. He caught her mouth in a desperate kiss, he tugged her arms up and around his neck as he enjoyed her mouth.

She whimpered again, relenting as his rocking distracted her with the well of feelings it induced. It wasn't long before the friction, his mouth, and tongue had her clinging to him as she couldn't fight the feelings again. It wasn't long before he stilled again, throbbing within her as he struggle to fight off his own completion. He pulled away from her, pressing himself up on his hands and adjusting the angle that he was seethed inside her. He shifted her knees up higher and she gasped at it seemed to shift him deeper into her, she didn't think it was possible that he could go any deeper. As the throbbing eased off he began to move again and all she could do was hold on.

There was a shift of stone, a scraping noise that signified the doors to their room being opened. He stilled and released a rumbling growl that quaked through him and thus through her, "I said I wasn't to be disturbed."

"Oh but dear Nefarian! It's been months since you have paid your sister a proper visit," an unfamiliar female voice cut through the room. It commanded the same air that Victor's did and she struggled to cover herself. She watched, with a touch of fear, as his features seemed to contort with anger at the sound of the speaker. "Brother, I heard that you were married! And I was so sad to find out that you didn't even deem it necessary to invite your favorite sister," there was a chuckle and a woman stepped into view. She didn't seem at all phased by the fact that they were still in an intimate embrace. "I thought I would be kind and pay you a visit before I go inform mother and father of your grand affair."

"Onyxia," he hissed and she thought for a very frightening moment that the color of his eyes changed to something more fiery. Did he suddenly have fangs? She could hardly breath watching the swift change of his features. "This is not an opportune time," he managed to right himself, though he wouldn't be able to change what she saw.

"Oh, I see that you are busy entertaining yourself with your wife," the woman that stood beside their bed was very lovely, her skin a light tan and her black hair curling around her shoulders. Her features were very similar to Victor's though they were feminine, she was beautiful. She wore a gown that was awash of colors; black, crimson, and a vivid purple. It was a straight cut with a slit up the side and a low cut opening. "And while manners would have me come back at another time," her voice was like honey. "I am sure that you would steal away my new sister in law to prevent me from properly being introduced to her."

He growled again and with a sharp tug, pulled his erection from her. She gasped and folded as he stood to confront his sister. She pulled the blankets quickly to herself to cover her nudity, but he stood tall and faced his sister unabashed. Did he have no shame? He grabbed his sister's arm in a fist and tugged her away from the bed, hissing lowly, "I will not allow you to come in here an issue threats against her or me."

"Oh," she looked unaffected by the fact that he had seemingly a tight hold on her arm. "I didn't come here to end the girl, brother. How petty do you think I am?" She watched as her crimson eyes seem to sparkle with something, "I just wanted to see what it was that had you acting so careless. And low and behold I hear that you have wed yourself to a human. You," she chuckled. "How surprised I am. Though," she turned her attention to Sofia and she gave her very satisfied smile. "She is a pretty one, so I suppose I see how you managed such a thing."

He growled, perhaps at the human remark. "Enough!" He jerked her back away from the bed again, this time in the direction of the door. "This is not something I wish to discuss here."

"Oh? What kind of web have you wove now?" He seemed to be applying enough pressure for the older woman to show a bit of discomfort, "You have secrets, do you? If you don't wish for me to expose them, dear brother, I would suggest you let me go. I would very much hate to turn this into a fight, wouldn't you?"

He made a defeated noise and released her, coming to sit heavily on the bed. He wouldn't meet her gaze, but it was hard to ignore what had been said. They weren't human. And she had known this already, after overheard conversations, but to have it said right in front of her had her stomach a twist with fear. What were they? "Behave yourself, I owe you nothing you have gotten every egg back from me so there's no need to be aggressive," he seemed to sulk.

Onyxia, as he called her, took a moment to adjust herself after he released her. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and turned her attention back to Sofia. "Dear brother, that hardly makes up for it. Though, I will say that I took out a good amount of my rage on your alchemist. I left him alive, or if you call what you did to him life," she shrugged and moved to join them, sitting close to Sofia on the bed. "What a darling thing you are. Tell me girl, what is your name?"

She swallowed thickly, trying to process everything that had been said with what was being said to her now. It was all overwhelming, especially having to process the fact that her fear had been confirmed. "S-sofia," she stuttered as she looked at the woman that sat so close to her. What was she?

"What a lovely name," she sounded amused, reaching forward boldly to cup her chin and tilt it up so that she could get a full view of Sofia's face. "Such blue eyes," she hummed. "Don't be so frightful, darling. With all his huff and puff, I did not come here to do you harm. Curiosity is all that I came here to sate."

"W-who are you?"

She chuckled deeply, releasing her, "I am Nefarian's sister." That got a dark growl from Victor and it only seemed to amuse her more, "Katrana Prestor, sweetling. You may call me Katrana." There must had been something that showed on her face, some sign of recognition, because the woman beside her seemed to spot it. She raised an eyebrow, "Have you heard of me?"

She shook her head and shot a cautious look at Victor, he was watching her just as closely, "O-only what Victor has told me."

The other woman hummed and turned her attention to her brother, "What are you playing at now?"

"We will not discuss it here," he said stiffly, not taking his eyes from her. "Not that it is of any concern of yours. It will not affect you or any of the mischief you have created."

"I would hardly call toying in the political humdrum of a large kingdom mischief," she sniffed then turned to Sofia again. "If anything politics is boring. Human kingdoms seem to be caught up too much on the small things that they lose view of the bigger picture. Consider yourself fortunate that you don't have to worry yourself with it."

Her fear made it difficult for her to breath and she looked up at Victor, sure she was wide eyed, "You're going to kill me?"

"No," he snapped with a growl and hissed at his sister, "That is enough."

"Oh dear," the woman beside her seemed to be watching him to. "Did you see that?" she spoke to her as they both gazed at her brother. "I think he meant it, too. Nefarian, what have you gotten yourself into?"

"Enough!" He stood, glowering now at his sister. "If you wish to discuss it will not be done here. Out," his voice seemed to rumble through the room and he pointed at the still open door. "And I will see to telling you the details of my … my project. However, you will not cause her anymore distress or do anymore harm to it."

The woman beside her chuckled, "Very well." She turned to look at her, giving her a smile that looked genuine and harmless, "You and I shall speak again, little Sofia. Don't you fret." She stood and started walking towards the door, skimming just past her brother, "You may want to make sure she has no means of escape or doing herself harm. I would hate for anything to happen to the lovely girl." With that she breezed just out of the room, much as she had come in, "Don't keep me waiting brother. I will be outside."

He turned to her and she was confronted with a look of desperation. "You will stay here," he ordered, as if she were one of his people. "I will be back shortly and I will allow your questions then. Do not," he hissed it out as if the idea his sibling had offered up might be something she would do. "Do not do anything rash. I will explain when I get back." He turned back to the door and barked, "Obsidia, Insidion!" The elf and a human man stepped into the room, both looked to be rightfully afraid. "You will stay here and keep an eye on her," he growl was low and dangerous as he walked to them. "I will see to my sister."

"Yes, sire," both looked to be equally cowed as their master stalked out their bedroom. When he was out of the room the man sighed and leaned up against the wall just inside the door, "I don't want to know who's hide he will be flaying for this." He had short cropped black hair and appeared like all the other inhabitants of the mountain she had met so far. It only led her to believe that he, too, was something other than human. "I can vouch for my where abouts since the girl came to the mountain. And I know you would sooner lay Maloriak, so I have no clue who would inform on him." The elf waved his concerns away, watching her with a keen eye.

She felt like she might hyperventilate. "Are you alright?" the elf had carefully approached her, concern showing on her face. She sat at the end of the bed, "Is there something I can get you?"

"I need a bath," she said uneasily. "He… we… I need a bath."

The elf looked to her male counterpart, "Make yourself useful and fetch her some water," she ordered. He sneered, but turned and walked from the room. Once they were alone the elf ventured closer, "Did she harm you?"

She looked at the female in front of her, the dark skin and the dark hair. "None of you are what you appear to be." She scooted away from the elf, pulling the sheets with her as she struggled to maintain her modesty. "What are you?"

The elf hesitated, perhaps she sensed the fear, "That is not for me to tell. He told you He would explain when He finished with His sister. He will."

"You're not an elf," she stated, as if to reaffirm what she knew. When the human man came back into the room, he leaned back against the wall and settled in. "He's not human," she gestured to him, "Neither is Victor."

"No," the male said lightly with little care to her turmoil. "Really the only things that are what they appear to be is the majority of the dwarves and the orcs. We keep some in with the orcs and dwarves in the event there is a stray trying to garner an uprising. They are pretty damn stubborn and if you don't outright kill them they are hard to get rid of." He shrugged as he spoke, "Though if you give me a guess I would say that it was likely one of those lesser races, hoping to insight some sort of battle between brother and sister. Orcs don't really like humans for obvious reasons."

"Insidion," the elf hissed lightly, "Now is not the time to make guesses as to who did this."

"It was bound to happen," he said with a shrug, watching as one of the large dragon folk came in carrying a large cauldron. "He was so caught up in the little human," he shrugged then she felt his eyes on her, looking at her in a manner that made her feel uncomfortable. "Though I suppose I could see why."

"Enough," the elf said solidly. "Go light the hearth in there." She looked back to her and offered her a hand to stand. "Let us get you cleaned up. Would you like me to make him stand in the hall?"

She nodded, but when the man walked back into the room, "He did tell us to keep an eye on her."

"And I'm sure He would be happy to eviscerate you for your presumptuous looks that you are garnering," the elf quipped with a smile, she stood and came around the bed to offer her a hand up. "Come, I will be of assistance."

She took the offering of help, her legs still a little shaky after the effort that Victor had made. Though, she was sure that her knees were weak due to the fact that she was unsure of where her future would go now. She was a project, he had said as much twice now. The elf hovered as she walked into the bathroom then, after dropping the sheet that covered her, even went as far to step into the bathtub with her. It got her clothing wet but the other woman didn't appear to care at all. "Would you like me to bathe you?"

"No," she said quickly, trying to get some space. "I can handle that myself. I can bathe myself, please."

She seemed to get the hint, so she released her and climbed out of the tub. "I will stay close, Insidion will stay in the other room so you can preserve your modesty. Whatever need you may have, Princess, do not be afraid to ask it."

"Quit hovering Osbidia," his voice carried from the bedroom. "If she's afraid and uncomfortable with the situation at large, you smothering her isn't going to help." The elf growled out her frustration but she stepped away, relenting and giving her the space she needed.

She took the time to wash herself, ensuring that she washed away the sweat that had gathered as they had coupled for the majority of the morning. She wasn't even aware of what time it was, she just assumed it was morning. She would occasionally glance at the elf the stood guard not far away. There was something about her, she wasn't sure what. Though she was sure it was likely related to the fact she was watching her so keenly, at Victor's order.

She went as far to wash her hair, trying to keep herself distracted by the audience and the implications that the visitor they had opened up a whole new set of worries. She started to get out of the bath and the elf was quick to fetch her a towel, offering it to her. "We need to get your dressed quickly, He will be returning shortly to speak with you," she advised shortly.

She took the towel and quickly went about drying herself off then wrapped the towel around herself. "Will you get Insidion," she said his name carefully. "To leave so that I may dress?"

"I was ordered to keep an eye on you, too," he complained.

"Come," the elf directed her back into the bedroom. "Pick out your garments and I will force him out the door."

She went to the trunks that held her clothing, a week and she hadn't bothered to unpack them. She found herself glad that she hadn't. Maybe there was something in her subconscious that knew she wouldn't be here long. She pulled out a fresh pair of bloomers, stockings, a shift, a corset, and a gown; she didn't really contemplate what the gown looked like, but she was determined to have as many layers on as she could.

She cast a weary look at the door and saw the elf had kept her word, forcing her male counterpart into the hallway. She took the time to dress herself in every bit of layer she would normally wear if she were still in Enchancia. She slid into the shift and then tugged the corset on, once she got it into place she found herself struggling with the laces. She cursed lightly, not even realizing she said a foul word, until a throat cleared. She looked over her shoulder and saw Victor standing in the doorway. He was dressed in his armor, which was worrisome seeing how when he left her he had been nude. "Leave us," he spoke sternly to the two he had guarding her.

"I'm not done dressing," she started to argue. "I need… I need help with my laces."

He came behind her and helped, though he didn't bother to tighten them to the degree she usually did. He tied it off then deftly helped her into her gown, his expression serious and he didn't appear to be at all flirtatious. Once he tightened the laces at the back of her gown and tied it off, he turned her to meet his gaze. "You have questions," he started.

"What are you?"

"And," he gritted his teeth and took a moment to pinch the bridge of his nose, as if he wasn't prepared for her to cut right to the chance. "I am prepared to answer them at my leisure. I just want to make sure you are still aware of the fact that I intend to keep my word. I will not harm you. Please take that into consideration before doing anything … rash."

She stepped away from him and went to the desk, something she had piled with books, several that were still open. She had done as he had suggested and gone through the offered tomes to find the magic texts. She picked up her wand and waved it towards her head, her wet hair drying. "At your leisure?" She questioned when she turned to look at him again, seeming him startled. Perhaps it was the surety that she used her wand? "Let's not drag this out, there's no sense in doing this at your leisure," she glared at him, feeling a sudden confidence. Maybe it was having wand gripped in her hand, "What are you?"

"What do I appear to be?"

"Don't," she said sharply. "You said that to me before and I knew it was a lie then just as it's a lie now." She took a breath, "Every single one of your people have the same coloring as you do, you are all dark skinned and with black hair. You're either all related or you're all using a similar spell to create an illusion. What are you?"

"How do you know it's a lie?" he folded his arms over his chest, looking foreboding in the glowing armor.

"I overheard your conversation with Zachary," she challenged him back, she kept her wand in hand though she resisted the urge to point it at him. "Not only that, your sister made it quite obvious that you aren't human. What are you?"

His featured twitched, his brows drew down and together. It was apparent that he wasn't enjoying the conversation or the knowledge that she had eavesdropped on him, he took a step closer to her and she retreated. "I am your husband," he said evenly. "Regardless of what I actually am, you have been wed to me. You are mine."

"The agreement that was made and the wedding that followed was under the strict understanding that you were a man, a human," she was quick to point out. "While I don't know all that you shared with my father I know that he wouldn't have agreed to allowing you to have me if he was aware of the fact that you aren't human." She took a breath and backed up more, he started to look more frightening as she spoke. She needed to put as much distance between them as she could manage. "What are you?"

"I am your husband!" he snapped again, the ferocity that he said it made her jump. "Regardless to what I am, I am your husband! Try to deny it all you want, girl, but as I said before you are mine."

She was afraid, the fear she felt while in the carriage started to choke her. She back into the wall, suddenly in a corner. There was no real escape, even if she could get to the door and out it she had no idea how to get out. "What do you want from me?"

His rage seemed to start to crumble at that question and he closed the distance between them, much to her distress. "I have been true with what I said that I wanted, I want children," he said it evenly, his hands hovering close to her shoulders but not touching. "I want you to give me children."

She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, she wasn't going to be able to. He didn't know that, she didn't need him to. She swallowed hard and decided to throw one of her theories at him, "Zachary isn't your nephew. He's your son. You have children, one at least. Why do you need children from me?"

His features twitched again and she thought, fearfully, that they might twist into the fearsome vision she had seen before. "I won't deny that, I see I was foolish to attempt to claim him as my nephew. You're astute enough to realize that. Yes," he said evenly despite the minute twitch of an eyebrow. "He's my son, in fact. I have several children, I'm not even quite sure how many I have." He released a breath, "It's irrelevant. Regardless as to whether or not I already have children, I want you to give me more." It was said simply.

It took her a moment to connect them, but the dots finally did connect, "They would be half." She looked away from him as she considered the thought, "They would be half human and half…" She looked back up at him and he watched as the realization seemed to dawn on her. "What are you?"

A growl rumbled through him, it seemed to bounce off the walls and she was confronted with the frightening noise on all sides, "Your husband, as I keep saying."

"Are you going to kill me?"

The anger seemed to drain from him again and, much to her distress, he pulled her into an embrace. His face was buried against her hair and the sharpness of his armor dug into her. "No," he growled out as he seemed to cling to her. "It wasn't my intention to kill you even in the beginning," he relented.

"What happened to the Princess of Rudistan? Princess Ethelgyth? What did you do to her?"

He pulled away from her, confusion on his face. He didn't expect her to know? "Ethelgyth? I did nothing with her or to her," he said seriously he released her and stepped away, seeming disturbed that she knew of Rudistan's lost princess. "I didn't start the war between Rudistan and Enchancia. Do not try to pin that on me, even if you were able to that was centuries ago," he huffed out a breath and she was startled when she saw a puff of smoke. "That wasn't me," he said again.

She felt a flame with a sudden rage that sparked in her, "You didn't do anything, but you know about her! How long did you expect this charade to continue? How long did you intend to keep me around for what? Halflings? Half what?" She snarled and she saw him take a step back, "What then? Will keep me here until you get sick of me or until your sister decides to put me out of my misery?" She had even gone as far as taking a menacing step towards him, though she wasn't sure what she would do to him. Her wand was tightly gripped in her hand.

He had back away from her, but fright wasn't on his expression. It was carefully blank, but there was no missing the lust in his eyes. "Halfings, yes," his lips twitched in a slight grin, it only infuriated her to see. "Astute. This is invigorating. Keep yelling, Princess! Should I supply you with a sword?"

"No," she snapped at him. "Either tell me what you are or take me back to my family and end this farce."

He features settled, though the lust lingered and it disturbed her to see it still in his eyes. "Very well, how about I show you instead of merely telling you. Seeing is believing, after all." She eyed him warily, but nodded. "Good, let us take a walk then," he offered her his arm and when she hesitated to take it he stepped forward and took her hand. He placed it into the crook of his arm and led her from the room.

"Ethelgyth was not my doing," he said again as he started to lead them down the twists and turns of corridors. "Nor was the war between Enchancia and Rudistan. Daval Prestor had the joy of putting that debacle together. You would know this if you paid attention to your history lessons at your prestigious school."

"It's not something they taught," she retorted. "But, Daval Prestor is your father. How is that possible?"

"I'm taking you to show you, remember?" he chided lightly. "The little princess of Rudistan was unfortunate. Sadly, my father doesn't have a taste for humans and the … pleasures that they can bring," she caught a hint of a flirtatious smile crossing his face. "Once he secured the princess he brought her here, not something I was pleased with mind you. I was still struggling with the dwarves so I feared that I would have to deal with humans as well." He offered a light shrug, "They never made it as far as the mountain though, father was kind enough to supply me with enough drakes to deter any 'rescuers' from getting too close." They stepped through the broad archway that she had first entered when they arrived.

"What did he do to her?"

He gave her a look, it seemed remorseful but she saw more pity than anything else, "I won't go into the details of all that he did. But, let us just say that he ended her."

"Is that what you intend to do with me once you get what you want?" She didn't let fear take her, she had stilled herself as they approached the edge of the platform that overlooked his territory. There was a bleakness to the black mountains that seemed to flow out from the ledge below them. The sky was a wash of red and orange, she struggled to figure out whether or not it was night or day. She could see dots of would could only be pools of lava and outlines of structures. This was his kingdom.

"No, no," he breathed and he turned to her, pulling her close. "When I first saw you at your castle, looking at me with distrust, I couldn't fight the want I had for you. You were never originally in the plan. The treaty that I secured with your father was for a general need of water and lumber," he gestured to the black mountain range. "Two things I am woefully short on and, unfortunately, the lesser races that I have in my employ do require water to survive. But, I saw you and I could barely contain myself. It was apparent after a few talks with your father that it would be unacceptable for me to sneak into your room and merely have you. Chastity and modesty are two things that I look forward to going out of style."

"They aren't likely to go out of style anytime soon," she found herself mumbling as she looked out at the mountain range.

"I've got time to wait for it," he chuckled.

"So you married me just to have the chance to sleep with me?" she looked at him again. "You've done that, can that be enough? You can return me to Enchancia."

He released a breath, "At first I would have said yes, though each time I have tasted you I found that hunger growing. I can't seem to sate it. I wasn't lying when I said I would be happy to have you wrapped around me all day. There is something quite pleasant about you and addicting. All of which is saying something," he looked down at her with an eyebrow raised. "I have not really been known to keep a lover for long, but I can't seem to tire of you. I went so far as to claim you, if you remember?" She grimaced, unable to forget. "I find myself wondering if I have been charmed by you, if you have cast a spell upon me. But then the mess on the way here makes me realize that, perhaps not. I usually do not sleep, but when I hold you close I find myself sleeping comfortably. As if you soothe something within me that I can't name," he rumbled. "I couldn't send you back."

"Why do you want halflings?" she tried to ignore the feeling that coursed through her at his admission. He had become attached to her, she wasn't sure if it was love or not.

"I am a scientist, I told you this," he kept a firm grip on her. "There's halflings of every type. It seems that humans are quite able to mate with just about any other race and create offspring. I would like to see if there's a possibility between our races and the amount of power that our offspring could contain or achieve."

It was a sickening thought, it made her stomach twist up, "If I were able to produce children with you, I wouldn't let you hurt them."

"That is neither here nor there, you aren't currently with child for it to be of a concern to you now," he said stoically.

They stood there, looking out over the world and she had nearly forgotten why he had brought her out here. She pulled away from him, leaning against the stone railing that surrounded the edge. "Since I arrived here I've heard you called Nefarian. Is your name Victor? Or is that what I should call you? Nefarian?"

"Hearing you call me that is quite moving," he assured her, he took a step up on to the stone railing. "Victor Nefarious is the name to this face, though there's not many that's seen it before I came to Enchancia," he turned to her, standing dangerously close to the edge. "Nefarian is the name to this..," and without another word he stepped backwards off the ledge and plummeting down to the small valley below.

* * *

I couldn't resist ending it right there.


	16. Chapter 16

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story has adult material in it. This chapter has nothing of a sexy nature, however I have to wonder how you got this far without running into it.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

Taking up where we left off.

* * *

"Hearing you call me that is quite moving," he assured her, he took a step up on to the stone railing. "Victor Nefarious is the name to this face, though there's not many that's seen it before I came to Enchancia," he turned to her, standing dangerously close to the edge. "Nefarian is the name to this..," and without another word he stepped backwards off the ledge and plummeting down to the small valley below.

She screamed and rushed forward, striving to get some grasp onto him to keep him from falling to his death. But, it was too late. His eyes stared up at her as he fell and she watch, mesmerized as his eyes began to burn. Before he reached the ground, and his end, he seemed to erupt into flames. Fire consumed him and she watched, frightened as to what it could mean.

The ball of flames that he was seemed to grow at a hurried pace and just when it seemed it would strike the ground a pair of wings sprung from the flames. The wings flapped once and the flames started to let go, exposing the forbidding form he had changed into. The beast banked up the side of the mountain that created the small valley and followed it up into the air, giving her a full view of him. He was massive, larger than anything she had ever seen. He was sleek black scales and webbed spines along his back, once he reached a greater height he did a barrel roll and turned back to the ledge.

He landed heavily onto it, causing it to shake. She clung to the railing and stared without shame, it was hard to wrap her mind around. I was right, I was right all along. It circled around in her thoughts as she met the gaze of the behemoth that took up the majority of the platform. Horns curled around from the sides of his head and he had two spines hung from the bottom of his jaw, adorned with gold rings. As a dragon he would have a beard, too, it would seem.

"Does this answer your question, little princess?" his voice boomed through her, even though it sounded as if he were speaking to her as he had at any other time. "Does this satisfy that curiosity?"

She couldn't speak, she could only stare. She watched as he edged closer and then sprawled out onto his stomach, his snout resting close to her. The eye closest to her, burning and focused just on her. "Say my name again," he beckoned with a low purr. "Speak it again, my princess."

"Nefarian," she breathed, because even with as struck with fear as she was she wasn't foolish enough to not do what the monstrous looking dragon bid her to do.

He rumbled another purr and one of his wings swept along side her, she thought perhaps to catch her if she had the mind to fall over the railing. "You smell of fear," he rumbled. He shifted his head closer and he inhaled deeply, nearly causing her to stumble forward. "You asked, you tried me. Well now, I've shown you what I am. Where did your fire go, little princess? Don't tell me it burned out."

"You are massive," she breathed out, struggling and failing to find her footing. "How… how could … how could this have happened?" She landed heavily on her knees as she looked at the beast. "I've met dragons, they didn't have the power that you do. How is this possible?"

"They are either weak or stupid then," he said nonchalantly.

"Everburn saved me and helped me, I wouldn't call him weak or stupid."

"Everburn?" he chuckled lightly at that. "Just a whelp compared to me, I assure you." He nudged her lightly with his snout and she tried to push him away, his scales were like fire and she wondered if she touched him for too long if he would burn her. "You remember the book I gave you? Can you place what flight I am in?"

"You are black," she said steadily, allowing him to steer the conversation away. It gave her direction and a chance to find her nerve again. "You're of the black dragonflight."

"What does the black dragonflight do?"

"You're the warders of the earth," her brows drew together. "Would your cousins from the other flights approve of this experiment?"

He quirked a ridged brow at her then chuckled, it made the earth vibrate. "Probably not, I imagine that the Aspect of the red flight would be highly displeased with me. But, I don't see any red dragons flying into your rescue. Do you?"

She shoved hard at his muzzle, finding her anger again, "What are you planning for Enchancia?"

"Nothing," he purred at her, seemingly pleased that she had found her fight. "I never intended to do any harm to your home, I just intended to take what I needed."

"And what if your project fails? Then what?"

"And why would it fail?"

"Halflings are coupled with two humanoids! What you want is madness! Don't you see that," she forced herself to stand. "There is no chance of this happening, you have to see that the physiology between our races make it impossible."

His tail seemed to swat about, as if he were a giant cat instead of a dragon. "It would be disappointing," he rumbled at her, not seemed to believe her. "I will give you that. Your argument is a sound one, but I would be hard pressed to not continue to do the … research and experimentation." She covered face, not able to face the grin and see the array of fangs that could easily snap her up.

"I don't want you to touch me," she said shakily.

She felt a melting heat and she worried, pulling her hands away from her face to see the man that he was. Or that he appeared to be when she married him. He was kneeling at her side in his armor. It occurred to her that was how he had managed to dress before. He had turned into a dragon and back. "That's an unfortunate thing to say," he sounded remise. "I wonder if I had been honest with you the first time, would it make a difference?"

"If you had been honest, I wouldn't be here," she snapped at him. "I know my father wouldn't have agreed to this had he known you were a dragon."

"Very well then," he stood with a sigh. "I have given you what you asked for princess. I have showed you what I am and my true face. What more do you want from me?" He threw his arms out and gestured to the platform, "I give you freedom to roam the mountain, within reason. There are some areas that are dangerous for you."

She looked away, "When will you allow me to return home? You promised that I could have a monthly visit with my family."

He hummed lightly, "I don't think that would be wise right now." She looked up at him and saw him gazing back at her, stroking his beard, "Something tells me I should be weary with the information you have now. I would be foolish to allow you to venture home now after just receiving this knowledge. I will keep my word though, as I am sure your father will likely hound me if I do not."

She had a feeling that he saw through her reasoning for asking. She carefully made an effort to a straightened her gown, "I want to go back to our room."

"I will have Obsidia lead you back," he responded without much emotion and, as if she had been watching the entire exchange, the elf stepped out of the large archway that led back into the mountain. "I trust that I needn't worry about you doing yourself harm?"

"I will not," she held her head high and walked to the elf.

"That's good to know," he honestly sounded relieved to hear it. "If she goes exploring make sure you stay close. You know where she shouldn't go."

The elf bowed deeply and looked up at her before meeting the gaze of her master, "I will keep her safe."

"Do not take this as me admitting defeat, Princess," he said evenly. "I have things to consider and I will give you the space you desire. However, another week or so, and I will come to call upon you to do your wifely duty." With that, and something of an amused chuckle, he strolled right off the platform's edge.

She resisted the urge to look and watch him change into a dragon again. She saw him bank upwards, as he had before, and twist to the west. She had been married to a dragon. She took a shaky breath, "You are a dragon, too?"

"I am," she answered without hesitation.

"Is everyone that I've met while here a dragon?"

"The dwarves are dwarves," she offered. "However any that have appeared human or elf are dragons."

"Why is he doing this?" She looked at the dragon before her that appeared to her as an elf. "Why arrange all of this? The 'project' sounds insane, you know that, right?"

"Come," she came to stand beside her, putting a hand to the small of her back. "You look pale, perhaps you should eat something."

"Are you going to ignore my question?"

"No," she said uneasily. "But there are eyes and ears everywhere, Princess. I do not wish to incriminate myself by having a candid conversation with you." She directed her inside and through the corridors that led to the bedroom she had been staying in. "I honestly think that is why Onyxia truly came to pay a visit. While the two may tangle at times they are more opt to work together than they are against one another."

"He seemed worried when she … when she interrupted us," she said slowly. "And he also seemed afraid that she would find out about me. Why?"

"Their father, the father of our flight, is not fond of humans," she said simply once they arrived to her bedroom she cast a cautious look about before closing the door. "Are you hungry?"

"I can wait," she assured her. Then considered it, still having her wand clutched in her hand. "I learned a new spell from the books he had in here," she waved the wand in a circular motion, as if stirring a cauldron. The wand created a flurry of colors; blue, violet, and pink, before creating a table that floated before her. The table itself was clear and small, but it was covered with clear bottles of water and several flaky pastries that looks sinful. "I-I guess the question here is, are you hungry?"

That drew a chuckle from the elf and she went to sit on the edge of the bed, "No, but you eat. I will answer your questions to the best of my abilities."

With a gesture of her wand, she made the table follow her to sit on the edge of the bed as well, facing the elf. "Tell me why he was afraid of his sister finding out about me," she picked up a pastry and bit into it. She hummed for a moment, because it made her think of home and all the sweets that Chef Andre would bake for them as children.

"As I said, their father is not fond of humans. He fears that Onyxia will go to him about His infatuation with you," she confided. "It is uncharacteristic of Him, He has never had any desire to choose a consort and has never really cared enough to keep a lover for long. Courting you for months then wedding you in a human fashion is worrisome." The elf looked away, "I believe it purely started out of mere want for you, but to allow it to go so far as this is odd. Nefarian is a beast that could have and would have merely taken what He wanted." She put the pastry down, no longer hungry. He had done that, in the carriage on the way here and then any time he wanted after. "There is something about you, something I have been trying to figure out since your arrival. It's what I believe has turned His desire for you into infatuation. He feared for your safety when Onyxia arrived. She could either go to their father, who would order you to be killed or go as far to come do the deed himself, or she would seek to put you down herself as retribution for her pilfered eggs."

"She said she would come back," she looked at the elf curiously. "Will she?"

"It is likely," she hummed as she reached forward to pluck up a bottle from the floating table, taking a ship from it carefully. She pulled the bottle back with a little bit of surprise, "It's just water?"

"I... I can't handle the ale the dwarves bring me," that got an outright laugh from the dragon that looked like an elf.

"It's curious," she sobered quickly. "There is something special about you, Princess. I wish I could name what it is."

"You said he never took a lover for long," she started warily. "Were you one of his lovers?"

"Briefly," she admitted.

"Is that why you speak about him with such reverence?" She paused then looked down, "I'm sorry. I can't imagine how uncomfortable this must make you to look after me after having been with him. I wouldn't have asked you to be in this position."

"Don't fret," she put the bottle of water back onto the floating table. "I have great respect for what Nefarian is capable of. He and His mother have created a lot, they have managed to save our flight when we were near the brink of destruction," she looked at Sofia again, brows drawn together as she seemed to consider something. "I think I can see what has Him so enamored by you."

She looked up to meet the dragon's gaze, curious, "What?"

"I've noticed it before and I don't expect you to understand," she said uneasily. "But there is a quietness that comes with being in your presence. It is… it is as if you are a beacon of light in the darkness. As if you bring a certain peace."

"I don't understand," she said, hoping she would elaborate.

"It would be hard for me to explain and I would have to divulge into the history of my flight more so than I would like to," her company looked tired at the mere prospect. "He said He had been sleeping. While sleep for us isn't a rare thing, true restful sleep is hard to come by without assistance from an alchemist."

"He sleeps," she said without hesitation. "I don't know that I know the significance that he would sleep." She fidgeted with the wand as she consider her next line of questions, "The way that you put it, the way that he talked about the project that he cooked up for me … it sounds insane. Is it just talk of a madman… well dragon or is there substance to it?"

"There is some substance to it in the respect that humans are pretty receptive to reproduction with other humanoid races. We have seen halflings produced when coupled with elves, orcs, and dwarves. Whether or not it would be feasible to produce offspring between a dragon and a human is questionable. This idea of His didn't come to surface until after He returned from Enchancia the first time."

"So, he sought out a reason that would be accepted by his kind to take me and keep me?" she looked down, suddenly feeling sick. "That's not at all a comforting thought."

"You look as if you could use a distraction," the dragon interjected. "You have been forced to stay in this room long enough. Shall we explore the mountain?"

"I've been curious," a wave of her wand and the table before her vanished in a shimmer of arcane energy. "Why didn't he allow me out?"

"With the thought of an informant in His is clutch, He worried who all may discover you," she said, standing. "He wanted to keep you a secret for as long as he could. Unfortunately, it wasn't very long."

She stood and allowed the dragon to lead the way. She was led through the corridors again, though this time the dragon that looked like an elf told her a little bit about the history of the mountain. "The dwarves originally built this castle within the mountain. I'm sure you have noticed the heat?" She nodded, "That is because the mountain is a volcano. The lava flow is stemmed to other places and used as a means of power and heat. Dwarves have surprising ingenuity as well as being masters at masonry. There are some areas that are quite impressive."

"The balcony was beautiful at one point, I bet," she hazarded. "What happened to it?"

"I'm sure you've gotten some ideas as to what might have happened," the dragon chuckled, but didn't offer her an answer. "Let us skip the spire, there are these statues that I think you might enjoy to see." She led her up a series of ramps until the came into what appeared to be a foyer. There was a large statues on either side of the room, with steps that led up to another room on either side. One statue appeared to have been damage, which was a worrisome trend, but the other was clearly a dwarf. The stone man had a stood over a small stream of lava that poured down into a pool, he held two stone hammers up above his head and looked quite impressive. The other was a mirror, however his arms had been removed and the staircase on his right side was damaged giving her an idea of where the lava was going.

"We won't be going up there," Obsidia said. "We discovered a lava worm beneath that room and it's not particularly safe for you to go inspecting it."

"I'm guessing that it's not the same as a normal worm," she asked, though curious she wouldn't feel the need to endanger herself by going to find out just what a lava worm looked like.

"He's fairly impressive in size, though he is a lava based creature so he has a tendency to spit fire," she chuckled. "Nefarian mentioned to you about dealing with the golems, I believe?"

"It was one of the things we discussed in our letters," she nodded.

The dragon gestured to the stairs by the undamaged statue, "They're up here." She followed her as they went up the stairs. There were two more statues, or so they appeared, on either side of an arch way. "These are also dwarf creations, though He's managed to manipulate them so that they do His bidding. They have a tendency to malfunction as I'm sure He's told you."

She ventured close to one of the stone creatures their eyes glowed red and they looked ahead stoically. There was no emotion in their stone faces but she could feel the energy radiating in their stone forms. It pulsed like her heart beat and she skimmed her fingers over the stone surface, i gave her a slight heady reaction feeling the power that came off the constructs. She stepped away and looked owlishly at the dragon, "What is it powered on?"

"Arcane magic," the dragon said simply. "He's supplied you with books on how to learn how to tap into it. I would highly suggest you continue looking into them. You aptly learned out to conjure a mage table, I'm sure there are other spells you will find in the texts that are useful."

She turned to look into the room and saw four other copies of the two standing guard in the arch way. "How is it they malfunction?"

"They will shoot sparks and otherwise," she said evenly. "We're not quite sure how old they are and most of them do as they should. Like these two, for example. They will stand there and guard until hostiles approach, then they will go into action."

The temptation to go into the room with the others was strong, the thought though that they malfunctioned and had a tendency to shoot sparks was what kept her from following her curiosity. "He uses them as guards?"

"For the most part," the dragon went back down the stairs. "They also can act as labor, when they function correctly. It makes it so that creatures He might use as labor can do other things. Come, the mountain is large and we have more to explore."

She followed her down the stairs and then, remember the mentioned lava worm, went to the other opening. There was a large drop off, one if she hadn't noticed she would have just walked right off and fallen to her doom. But she looked out into the broad circular room. "Is this the center of the mountain?" The center was a large vat of lava and surrounding it was stone walkways that led into different rooms. The architecture was was aghast at how large the space was, then she made the mistake of looking up.

"It is," the dragon confirmed beside her, not seeming to notice her distress."I would offer to take you down there so you could explore, but there are a few creatures there that aren't entirely friendly. Atramedes is blind, for example, and his blindness has made him quite irritable. Chimaeron is a creation of Nefarian's and it seems to be unpredictable around creatures it doesn't know. So that would make it dangerous." She paused in her explanation and turned to look at her, she might have been about to say something else but the expression on the princess's face gave her pause.

There was dragons, of every color except black, hanging from hooks that hung from the ceiling. It was apparent that the creatures were dead. They dangled from the ceiling as if they were decorations and she could hide her revulsion or the despair she felt. "Why would he do this?"

"They are our enemies," she said simply.

"They were creatures," she looked to the dragon beside her. "You can't tell me that you don't look up there at them and feel regret or remorse that they are there."

"The world isn't like that, princess," she retorted. "They came to the mountain with the intent to kill and were killed instead. This isn't a fairy tail. When a person or a creature comes to you seeking your death you don't have time to get them to see reason."

"So you hang them from the ceiling like morbid chandeliers? You keep them as trophies?"

"He finds uses for their corpses, to merely dispose of them would rob us of the magical properties that each of their flights contain. He has uses for them," she protested. "They are more than just trophies. They are also deterrences."

"He's more of a monster than I first thought," she swallowed hard trying to fathom how he had manage to hide the depth of his evil from her. And from her father.

"Come," the dragon placed a hand on her shoulder, she jumped and nearly stumbled off the edge. "Let us go somewhere else. There is still a great deal to the mountain."

She lingered, staring up at the dragons that dangled from the ceiling. She would have to find a way out of here. If she were to stay there was no telling what would happen to her. She followed when the dragon prompted her and she found herself wondering the capacity that creature close to her was capable of. Was she really safe around this one?

She led her out on the balcony that she had been on previously, she was afforded enough of a view of the sky outside to determine that it was getting later in the day. She felt shaky and she wondered what the dragon was up to until she led her to another archway and down a set of stairs. "How about I take you to the rookery?" she offered as she led the way. "Allow you to see some of the eggs?"

She could only nod, unable to find her voice. She was led to a large room and she could feel the heat in the air. It was stifling, she wasn't in there long before sweat started to gather beneath her hair. The room was vast and there was raised platforms on either side, in the room was large eggs though there weren't many. "There were more eggs though, I'm sure you can guess what happened to them."

"They were his sister's and she took them back?" she sounded hopeful. That's what she hoped happened, otherwise she found herself fearing the truth.

"Yes," another voice interrupted. It was the large beast that she saw when she first arrived. He waddled over to them, standing between them and the eggs. "She took what was hers. All that are left are Lord Nefarian's."

"He has eggs here?"

"These are from lovers He had before He began courting you," the dragon beside her assured her. "He has been dedicated to you."

She wasn't sure she would mind so much if he decided to bed someone other than her, "Can I see them?" She looked at the creature before her unsure.

"I will trust," he rumbled darkly as he narrowed his eyes at her. "That you will do them no harm."

"Of course not," because she was genuinely curious. Harming another living creature wasn't something she thought herself capable of. He led her forward to the closest one. "Thank you, by the way," she started timidly. "For lending me your cloak when I arrived." He gave her a look and his reptilian features were hard to read, though she could tell her gratitude was unexpected.

"I do as my lord commands, princess," he said as he gestured to the egg before them. "You may not wish to touch it, it looks as if it might burn you. You look fragile."

She wasn't sure how to take that, "I will just look then, thank you for your concern." It didn't sound insulting, though she imagined compared to the creatures he dealt with she was fragile. She approached the egg that was nearly as half her size, it appeared to be pink and she wondered if she should be afraid.

She looked close, crouching down to get a better view, and she found that she could see an outline of the creature within it. It was a shadow inside the protective shell. She knelt, studying it in awe. The creature in question appeared to be bundled up, wrapped up in itself. "How long do they stay in their eggs?"

"We expect them to hatch within another three months," the general offered. She saw the creature in the egg shift and seem to turn in the direction of his voice.

"Can they hear us?"

"Dragon's hearing is very acute. Even early on. So yes, they can hear us. Early on they may not be able to understand the words, but now each egg can hear our conversation and understand what is being said. They will come out of the egg with a vast knowledge on many things," the general went on to say. "We teach them young if you will."

"Wow," was all she could manage as she stood. "That's amazing," she murmured as she carefully try to size up the egg. She came back around to find the dragon and the dragonkin creature watching her curiously. "Thank you very much for allowing me to see them and telling me about them," she curtseyed out of habit. "It was very kind of you."

The general nodded, bowing in a way that looked awkward with his forelegs down to a knee. "I will be sure to have you informed when they hatch. That way, if it interests you, you can see what happens when they come out of their shells."

"Thank you," she smiled and saw that he appeared perplexed and nodded again.

"How about we see to some dinner, Princess?" the dragon said, seeming pleased. "General," she nodded to him, then directed her out of the vast room. "I hope this has kept you entertained."

"It was very interesting, he gave me a book on dragons but to see the eggs and the little dragons inside them," she brushed her hair behind an ear. "That was something different. I wonder if that is how it is for human babies, when they are gestational." The spoken thought, how it came out with little direction, gave her pause. She wouldn't be finding out, she put a hand to her stomach feeling remorse. Though, given her current situation it was for the best.

"You look sad," the dragon beside her observed. "Why?"

"I may never find out what it's like," she answered truthfully. "Or, if I do, I will have no control over it. I won't actually be a mother. Something more along the lines of a breeding mare. That's not comforting."

"I imagine not," she offered a bit of comfort.

"Can I ask a question?" she ventured, trying to distract herself from the thought of the potion not working at Nefarian's insane plan coming to fruition. "I've noticed that when I show appreciation that a lot of you seem to be thrown off by my gratitude. Why?"

"We do as we are told, usually there is no gratitude for doing your job as it was expected of you. There is the general understanding that failure isn't tolerated and the usual result of failure is death," she explained simply.

She started to say more when an odd sound caught her attention, tiny roars and flapping of wings. Curious she turned towards the sound and went to investigate. Her companion followed nevertheless, but when she ventured too close to finding out what it was she felt a firm grip at her elbow. "Don't get too close," she was advised.

She turned to shoot her a look, before turning a corner and seeing where the noises came from. She stood to see another large room. There were several pillars the stuck up halfway that littered the room. They sprayed out a mist. From here she couldn't distern any sort of scent, but it was apparent that they were spraying out some sort of gas. In the clouds of mist large groups of little dragons of every color flew about aimlessly. Every color except black. She saw creatures that looked like the general a head above the mist clouds, they seemed to be tending to the whelps. "What is this?"

"The gas keeps them feral, so it's important that you do not get too close," the dragon that gripped her elbow said firmly. "If they were to swarm you there would be no stopping them from maiming you."

"What is this?"

"It is exactly what it appears to be," she said sharply. "They are being held and used for experiments."

She held her tongue, but couldn't keep the distress from showing on her face. He was a monster. She was tugged back and in the direction of what she could only assume was her bedroom. It was a blur as she became to be overwhelmed with the swirling thoughts of all the things she had seen today. Victor was a dragon, his true name was Nefarian.

Fortunately, the dragon that was charged with guarding her brought her right where she assumed she would. She opened the doors and tugged her in, "I am going to go ensure you get a real meal today. I've not seen you anything other than the sweet thing you nibbled on earlier in the day. You will stay here." It was an order, "And you will do no harm to yourself."

"I won't hurt myself," she promised. "I'm not sure why you all assume that I will." She went to the desk and sat down, fishing through the pile of books to find her journal. "I'm not foolish enough to think that's the only way I have out of this."

"That… that is good to know," her guard said. "I will return shortly."

She nodded her head, once she was alone she opened the journal to a new page. She wasn't able to digest anything he might have written to her. Her mind was too clouded with all the things she had seen that day. She picked up a quill and dipped it into ink then began to write.

'I was right. I was right from the very beginning.

He's a dragon. And he is the most evil thing I have ever laid eyes on.'


	17. Chapter 17

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story has adult material in it. This chapter has nothing of a sexy nature, however I have to wonder how you got this far without running into it.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

I was tempted to do bad things in this one. But I refrained. It was hard. Just so you know.

* * *

It had been a few days since Victor had exposed his true face to her. He had let her be, which was both a relief and worrisome. She was left with a guard, also a dragon, and she had taken the opportunity to tour the mountain and see the place that was now her home. It had been a mistake. While some of the things she had seen had been amazing, she had seen the true darkness that was this group of dragons. The part that really scared her was that she had only garnered a peek at it.

The days after that she searched through the books that he had supplied her with a fever, devouring any and all information that she could. She picked up more defensive spells as well as a few offensive spells. She didn't really get the opportunity to put them into practice, her guard watched her like a hawk from the doorway. So far she hadn't found a way to get herself out of the mountain.

Without Victor hovering or distracting her with his demands, she had been able to maintain better communication with her sorcerer. His reaction to her exposing the truth wasn't something she expected.

'You're serious? I'm a fool for not believing you when you came in here the first time thinking him a dragon! How can this be true? How the hell are we supposed to get you out of there? I'm taking this information to your father. I will… I will contact every sorcerer I know in the tri-kingdom to figure out a way to get you out of there!'

She wasn't prepared for what her father might say. Or think. She would have to wait for a response on it. But, she forged a head.

'I saw him turn into it. He dwarfed the dragon we saw when we created the reservoir. He was three times it's size. I'm not even sure the sheer number of dragons that are here, either. They all wear faces that are human or elf. Even if I manage to escape it will only bring trouble to Enchancia. We will have to find a way to protect the kingdom. I don't think he'll just let me go.'

She wasn't sure how he was going to tell her father, if there was a way for him to show the journal he would also risk exposing his feelings for her. That may not go well for him. She stood, picking up a tome and looked to her guard. The dragon met her gaze curiously.

"I'd like to go outside," she said timidly.

"Did you want to explore the mountain?"

"Actually, I was hoping we could go out onto the balcony. I could use some fresh air," she said honestly, because it was what she wanted.

"Alright, I see no harm in that."

She kept a book under her arm and her wand in hand. The dragon gave her a curious look, but led her out. Once they were out on the balcony she opened up the book to the spell she sought. She reread the instructions quickly, then again, before she set the book down. She took a breath, trying to reach through the turmoil that circled through her. She found a quiet that helped her leave the fears and anger behind.

She felt a movement, not that of her guard, but of energy. She closed her eyes and felt it like the hot breeze cutting through the air. She just needed to touch it, she reached her wand forward and it was like the energy flooded to her. It surrounded her wand then went up her arm and swirled about her. She released an uneasy breath and tried to master it, getting the energy to amass into a ball before her.

It felt like it had worked. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw the large ball before her, it was a mixture of blues, purples, and pinks. "Beautiful," she couldn't contain her amazement. She reached forward as if to touch it.

"Don't!" the dragon cried and caught her hand, breaking her concentration and amazement.

The arcane orb was released with her concentration and went careening into one of the broad squat pillars that connected the railing about the balcony. When it hit, it passed harmlessly through it. She watched it confused as it faded away, seemingly harmless. "Why did you do that?" she turned to her guard, unable to mask her frustration.

"Did you want to burn your hand? Arcane burns are more unpleasant that fire burns," she explained as she let go of her hand. "Is that what you wanted to do? Come out here to explore casting arcane spells?"

"That was my intentions," she looked back in the direction the arcane orb had gone. "I didn't realize it would have burned me."

"You're a novice," the dragon said patiently. "So you should treat any spell you cast with great care."

"The castle sorcerer back home taught me a great deal of magic," she started to argue, looking back at the dragon. "I would hardly call myself a novice. I got top marks in sorcerery in school."

"But were you taught spells that were meant to maim?"

"No," she deflated. "I didn't realize that would maim anyone."

"You did," the dragon argued without malice. "I imagine your intention was either a means of protecting yourself from His affections or you are being foolish and you intend to challenge Him. I hope it isn't the latter."

"I don't expect you to understand my situation," she snapped at her. "I've got to get out of here somehow."

"Challenging Him will only excite Him in a way you aren't prepared for," she said lightly. "He is a very old dragon compared to some of us. He has a wealth of knowledge that you can't hope to match simply by learning how to harness the arcane energy around you." She put a hand on her shoulder, gently giving it a squeeze. "I will not deter you from learning offensive spells. However, you will need to think hard about what you will do with them."

"Even if I had the power behind me," she sighed in defeat. "Even with all that he's done to me and wants to do to me, I can't attempt to kill him." She looked to the female beside her, wondering if there was a way for her to understand, "How do I get out of here?"

"Do not ask me," she hissed at her. "I cannot help you and you should know this. Do not get so comfortable with me that you assume I would forsake my master for you."

"Then you will let me learn magic with the intent of using it on him?"

"I will not stop you because I know you don't have the means to kill Him. You claim to not have the will, but that's not it." She stepped away and walked to the railing. "If you attack Him, understand that He will not take it likely. You do not like lying with Him now, it's likely you won't enjoy it if you attack Him."

She clenched the wand in her hand hard, her knuckles turning white as her grip tightened. "I will get out of here, one way or another."

"I do not doubt that you will try," she said simply, turning to sit against the railing. "If He is as enamored by you as I believe He is, you will find that you will be hard pressed to be rid of Him."

"So if I run," she had found a spell that would slow her if she fell from a great height, it was what she intended to practice next. "He would hunt me down?"

"He would give chase," she nodded. "And there would likely be a punishment to receive once He caught you."

She could feel the tears burning their way up her throat, "I can't give up. I can't just submit to this madness and let him have his way. I will die here if I give up."

"Do not give up then," the dragon pushed away from the railing, coming to stand before her. Her odd colored eyes giving no impression as to what she was thinking or implying. "Do what you need to do to keep yourself together. If studying arcane magic is a means to keep yourself whole then do it. I am not going to deter you. I only deter what you use it are many spells in the books He gathered for you that you might find useful. You just need to look for the right ones."

There was something there, her brows drew together as she tried to figure out the meaning to her words. She swallowed hard then bent down to pick up the book, holding it close to her chest, "Thanks, I guess." She sighed heavily, her emotions weighing down on her, "I guess I need to figure out a new direction then."

"Shall we go back to your room? Perhaps rest? Sometimes spell casting can be draining," the dragon offered. "From what I understand the arcane arts are especially draining."

Sofia followed her direction and they went back to the bedroom. She spent the rest of the day digging into the books for a better alternative. There had to be one. She kept her journal open and was distracted until a message started to appear.

'Your father is in disbelief. I made the mistake of allow him to read the entire journal. Forgive me, it wasn't my brightest moment. I'm not sure how long my position here will remain. But I have swore that I will stay here until he has you returned securely. I don't even know how I managed to make any sort of demand to be allowed to stay. He started to suggest that I've done something to you, but your mother. Merlin. Your mother stepped up for me. Bless the woman. I thought she was going to skewer your father when she found out about your-' there was a smudge on the paper and she was sure he was cursing as he forcefully wrote the word, 'husband.'

She picked up the quill and began to write in earnest, 'I need a way out of here now. As quickly as possible. I have dozens of books on magic and I have been leafing through them in hopes that I'll run across something that could help me. Please, give me direction!'

There was a pause where she was sure he was reading her plea for help. She hoped he was considering a means that would help her get out of there herself. Then words started to appear again, 'I'm not sure. I would tell you to try teleportation spells, if you can find them, but they require so much concentration and there is no room for error in them. If you mess up the spell you could end up lodged in a wall. Or worse, only pieces of you could appear in the destination that you are shooting for. It's too dangerous, even if I were to supply you with the spell. Your father said he was sending a notice to the fiend, I hope he is doing it as I write this. Do not do anything drastic. Hopefully he will return you once he views your father's demands and threats of war.'

She whimpered, because neither of them probably realized what they were really dealing with. She put her face in her hands and tried to calm her emotions as she thought of an appropriate response. 'All of his people are dragons. I don't know that Enchancia would stand a chance in a war against Victor's kingdom.'

'Negative thoughts aren't becoming of you, Sofia. I've never known you to simply give up like this.'

'I'm not giving up, I'm hoping there's a resolution or something. But, I have to be realistic with this. We're facing something we didn't even realize was really a threat.' She put the quill down and went back to looking through the book until she realized he gave her what she was looking for. "Teleportation?"

She had been so engrossed in her search she had completely forgotten about her guard until she spoke up. "Dangerous, you would be running away. However, if you run to the right place," she spoke evenly. "He may not be able to make chase."

She looked over her shoulder at her, "Where would be the right place?"

"You have to find the right spell first," the dragon said simply. "Then consider where the books came from. That might be the right place to go."

"You're helping me?" she looked curious. "Why would you help me?"

"I'm not helping you," she said evenly. "I merely heard you speak your thoughts. You have a habit of speaking them aloud. If asked, it is in your best interest to say that I gave you no assistance at all."

She saw it as a warning. The female dragon would offer her advice only, it would seem, but if questioned she couldn't claim her aided her. It was for the best. She nodded and went back to her books to look for something, anything, that would steer her into the right direction.

She fished more books from the shelves and had traded the bed for the desk, since it was a broader surface. Her guard supplied her with meals, made her remember to break when she felt wary. She was beginning to wonder what the dragon gained in her not being here. She didn't trust she was doing this out of kindness, she found it hard to give any creatures under Victor's command any sort of trust. Though, she would be foolish not to trust her word about how he would react if she were to attack him or attempt to run on foot.

At some point, in her search, exhaustion had taken hold and she had fallen asleep surrounded by the books that could lead her to freedom. It wasn't a comfortable sleep, it was fraught with nightmares. What if she found a spell that would save her and couldn't master it? Would she appear home in pieces? What if he came bearing down on Enchancia to take her back?

She was awoke from her sleep with a loud bang. The doors to the bedroom were thrown open with a force that had the stone cracking against stone made a fearsome room had been dark, but with a flick of her wand the hearth close to her bed sprang to life.

Victor stood in the doorway with a twisted look on his face, he glowered at her before he turned and focused his rage on her guard. He plucked up the elf looking dragon by the throat and forced her form up against the wall as if she weighed nothing. "Have you betrayed me? Are you fool enough to do so?"

She watched as the female dragon struggled, gripping his wrist and struggling to speak, "I have done as you ordered!" Her voice was strained and her fear apparent, "I have guarded her and done as she bade! I would never betray you!"

He raised his other fist and she thought, for a fleeting moment, that he might strike the girl until she noticed the crumpled parchment in his grip, "Obsidia, darling, what does this look like?" His voice went from beckoning into a snarl, "The human demands I return his daughter to him! He accuses me of being a dragon. Can you tell me how he managed this information?"

"I-I don't know," she quaked, then choked as his grip on her throat must have tightened. "I haven't seen her send any letters to him!"

There was a low snarl from him before he dropped her to the floor. "Leave us," he hissed and the other dragon scrambled to escape the room. He turned to her, his expression going frighteningly blank. "Your father has demanded I return you to him," he said evenly. "Somehow, he has found out that I am a dragon. I wonder how that happened." She stayed quiet, watching as he slowly approached, "What do you think, Princess? Did he suddenly gain enlightenment or do you think a little bird told him?"

"I told him," she said without crumpling over the sudden burn of rage that took his expression. "You knew I would. Why are you so surprised?"

"But how?" he hissed at her. "How have you-" he cut off, suddenly taking in the fact that she was surrounded by books. There was a mess on the bed and when he looked to the desk he saw several already opened. Realization seemed to cross his features and he looked back down at her, "I underestimated you I see." He offered her the crumpled scroll and when she took it, he plucked up the closest book, "What is it you are searching for now?"

She took the scroll from him and deftly straightened it so she could read it. 'Victor,' it began formally. 'It's come to my attention that our agreement was a farce and I see that I would foolish in taking you for your word. Our arrangement was based on the fact that you were a man, human. I would have never allowed the marriage between you and Sofia if I knew what you really were. Basing that the agreement and marriage that followed was to a human, which you are not, our agreement is broken. Your marriage to my daughter is hereby annulled. I demand that you return her to Enchancia immediately! Failure to do so will be taken as an act of war. Enchancia's army is forming at the border, I will be gathering reinforcements from my allies. Return her safely to me and no action will be taken, dragon.' She sighed lightly, putting the parchment aside then turned to look at him. Would it work? "Are you going to take me back?"

He was turning pages to the book he had picked up, looking to be distracted by what he was reading. "Don't be foolish," he said offhandedly. "Of course not. I have nothing to fear from a human army," he chuckled and looked up at her. "If Roland decided to march into the Burning Steppes he has to manage to terrain first. If he actually gets to the mountain then he will be met with a force of dragons. The real question you should ask, is if your father is foolish enough to make the attempt." He paused at a page and his brows drew together, "Obsidia, Insidion."

At his bark of their names they stepped back into the room, they were immediately standing at attention. The female dragon's face was schooled into a cool mask, there was no sign of where he had forcefully held her against the wall by her neck. "Yes, my lord?"

"I want you to comb through these books," he said evenly as he dropped the book back onto the bed. "Every spell book in here. Remove and destroy any pages that give detailed instructions on how to cast portals or how to teleport," he said evenly as he turned to meet her gaze. "Sorry, Princess, but I won't be allowing you to escape me so easily." There must have been something on her face because suddenly, he shoved the books out of his way and sat onto the bed next to her, closing the distance quickly. "You are mine," he breathed and brushed his nose into her hair. "I will not be letting go of you."

She closed her eyes, feeling the tears start to gather. She couldn't watch as they began to make short work of the books she had gathered onto the bed. She hadn't found a real spell yet. She had looked and wasn't able to find any of the actual spells just mentioning of them. Now the chance was being ripped away from her. She tried to rein in her emotions, but her voice still quaked, "You're going to be upset when you find out I won't be able to give you any of the children you want."

He hummed, giving her cheek an affectionate kiss, "You don't know that, yet, my princess." He even went as far to lick the tears from her cheek, inhaling deeply, "You aren't ovulating yet, but soon you will be. And soon we will find out who is right and who is wrong."

She had the sudden desire to take something from him, as he was from her. He was having his minions literally rip out her chance of escape. She would take this from him, she decided. She pulled away from him and met his gaze, trusting that the potion her sorcerer had created would work. "I won't be ovulating," she said evenly. "I won't be having children, halflings or not."

"Days," he said dismissively, "Just a handful if I've calculated it correctly. That is what you have," he seemed to be ignoring her. "You can't argue mother nature, no matter how much you may want to." He stood and seemed to straighten himself, "Since you have managed a way to contact your father, you may want to inform him on what he will be dealing with if he decides to make the trek here. Not only does he get the opportunity to see my dragons in all their dark glory, he also gets the chance to see just how big the scorpids and spiders get on this side of the mountains. Tell him I politely declined to return you." He started to the door watching in amusement as the other two dragons destroyed the books he had gathered for her, "This is a good attempt, I have to say you definitely had me worried there for a moment. When you are ready to try to extract your revenge princess, let me know." And with that he swept out of the room, leaving her to watch the other two dragons.

She elected to stay in bed, laying down and curling on her side as she thought about what to do next. The sounds of parchment being ripped was getting to her and she would twitch with each new page that was ripped out. "Are you alright?" it was asked curiously and she looked to see her usual guard peering at her in worry.

She looked away, opting to stare blankly at the wall in front of her. "I didn't expect him to know," she confided. "How did he know?"

"Because he has eyes and ears everywhere," the male said steadily. He paused, bending down to gather the pile of pages that they had ripped out of the books. "It's damn hard to hide anything from him, usually you're better off not making the effort," he went to toss the pages into the fire. "Obsidia should know better."

"She wasn't helping me," she didn't bother to look at him, hearing the flames in hearth flare to life and begin to devour the pages. "All she's done is watch me."

"Oh, don't be a fool," he said with a sigh. "She pointed you in the right direction and he knows it. She's damn lucky he didn't gut her or worse. You could be on a lab table now, you know that right?" he snapped at the other dragon. "What would I do then?"

"Quit being selfish," the female said and she came to sit beside her on the bed. "Are you going to let this break you? I thought you were stronger than that."

"I'm not strong," she decided. "I can't handle dragons."

"At least she's smarter than you," the male said with a snort.

"There are other ways," the female forged ahead, ignoring her male counterpart. "Don't give up. You said it yourself, if you give up you die. Do you intend to die here?"

The male came to stand behind her, "I keep wondering why you've put yourself into this position, helping the human. Putting your own life on the line. This excuse better be good."

"Are you helping me?" she looked at the female that sat so close to her. "Are you telling me to try to run? Use the slow fall spell and try to get out of here on foot?"

"He would catch you," the male protested. "He'd likely chain you to the bed, too. Whatever agreement he put in place to give you your space now would be gone. He's obsessed. If he's not going to let you go back to your kind at the threat of war, he wouldn't just let you run off." He folded his arms over his chest and glared at her now, "If you were to attempt it he would place blame on her." He gave a nod towards the female on the bed next to her, "And he will kill her or worse. I like having her alive, so if you please."

"Insidion," the female snapped. "Go back to ripping out teleportation and portal spells."

"You and I will discuss this when we have the opportunity."

"It's an option," she said when she looked back at Sofia, trying not to hide her exaggerated expression at the male's words. "But you would have to be fast and get out of the Burning Steppes before he caught you. It's likely you would only have a day before he would come to find you." She looked regretful, "The letter from your father was ill timed. I'm sure you could have learned how to open a portal within a few days."

"If you don't like fucking him now," the male spoke up again. "It's highly likely that you won't like fucking him after he caught you. She needs to stop putting ideas in your head." He paused with a book in hand, "Why are you trying to get her out of here? What is in it for you?"

"Us," she snapped at him. "If he is distracted with her gone, we will be able to leave unnoticed."

Oh. It made sense now. She sat up to look at the dragon that looked like an elf, then the human looking dragon by the fireplace. They were together. "You are using me," she said at last. Turning to look back at the dragon in front of her, "If I tried to make a run for it, do you think he would try to kill you before or after he caught up with me?"

Her humanoid features twisted, she didn't look angry or ashamed. Just sad. "It is in our best interest to wait then. Whichever route you decide to take. We will have to wait for another opportunity."

"Unless you plan on saving a spell. Are you going to destroy them all?"

"Yes," the male said loudly. "Because if we don't do what we've been charged with, it will likely mean both our lives. And I'm angry enough with her for putting herself on the line for a human. I don't want to tempt fate further."

"Do what he told you to do then," she sighed and went back to mourning her lost chance. "I… I need to think. Maybe something else will come to me." The elf looking dragon nodded then stood, going to help her counterpart. He was apparently her consort.

She closed her eyes and struggled to think of another way. It was apparent that the two dragons couldn't whisk her away, they weren't willing to risk themselves in that way for her. There had to be another option. She just had to find it.

It was a struggle, she found it hard to not fall into a pit of despair with the sound of each page they ripped out. The temptation to extract revenge, like he seemed to be egging her on, was there. How she would do it, she wasn't sure. But she would either find a way out of here, or find a way to bring him to his knees. Whichever way she went, she couldn't give up.


	18. Chapter 18

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story has adult material in it, there's a little bit of a line that I danced on in this chapter. Some definite non-con related material though it doesn't go full blown kind uncomfortable moment. Figured it'd be safe to note it.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

Also going to warn you that the next chapter after this might take me a bit. I've reconsidered the plans I had for the ending and decided I needed to end it different. So, yea that's going to take me a little bit to figure out just how I'm gonna do it. To be honest, I was kinda flying by the seat of my pants with this story anyhow.

* * *

He began daily visits after the letter from her father came. At first it was simple enough. He had come to her, pressed his nose into her hair and inhaled sharply. Then his mouth came be at her ear and he purred, "Soon." Just the simple act had unnerved her. The fear that the potion might not work began to eat at her.

She had done as he told her to, writing in the journal that Victor had received the missive from her father. 'He got dad's letter. He wasn't happy about it and he says to tell dad that he 'politely declines' in the matter of returning me to Enchancia. He's not afraid of our army. He had his people tear out every teleportation spell and every portal spell from the books he collected for me. Can you give me one? Please? I have to get out of here!'

'I told you teleportation is extremely dangerous! I can't risk you trying it and either ending up in a wall or at a mountain's top. Wait. Portals? I will get back to you on how to open a portal.'

It was hope.

She spent her time back to work on offensive spells. She mastered the arcane orb easily, so much so that the time it took her to cast it had shortened significantly from the first time she cast it. She also mastered a blast of arcane energy that forced her dragon guard to slide across the floor, there would be a fine mist of smoke rising from her after she cast it. "Very good," the dragon complimented, shaking off the apparent pain that came from casting the spell. "The missiles now. Cast that spell."

"I don't want to hurt you," she said stubbornly, even though she was sure that the blast of arcane magic had done some damage to her companion. "The missiles sound like they could do a lot of damage."

"They will," she didn't sound concerned. "But I will heal. Come. You need the practice."

At her prompting she centered herself again, forming the arcane magic into menage of three bolts that struck the dragon across from her. They hit her multiple times until she couldn't cast them anymore. "Hold!" the dragon raised a hands upward and it was apparent that she was hurting. "Hold!"

She quickly closed the distance between them, looking worried. "Are you alright?"

"That hurt more than I anticipated," the dragon chuckled uneasily. "I think we should… we should definitely call a hold to this practice, Princess. I think I have reached my limit as a practice dummy."

"You're the one that told me to cast that spell," she argued. "I was against the idea of using you as a test subject."

"Ah," she hissed and Sofia moved to her side, pulling her arm around her shoulders. "But if you are going to master the spells you need to practice them. If you want to throw off his advances having something to knock him back is a good idea." The dragon leaned into her for support and they started to make their way back inside from the balcony. "This is merely an option though," she spoke, pausing to wince. "An option that has consequences with it."

"An option I'll only take if I get desperate," she assured her. "Doing this makes me feel a little less… depressed I guess with my situation. Like I'm building an arsenal and I'm a little less defenseless."

"You are," the dragon assured her as they came to her room. She pushed the doors open and Sofia guided her to the bed. "The more confident you become in casting the spells the more they hurt. While they won't do as much harm to Him as they do to me, they will still assist you on some level." The dragon flopped back on the bed with a sigh, "I didn't anticipate that to hurt as much as it did."

"Rest then," she told her. She didn't want to think of the dragon as a friend, knowing that she was using her as a means to escape herself. But, she couldn't help but feel some affection towards the dragon. After all they spent so much time together.

"For a moment," the dragon claimed. "He will be here soon to see that you aren't in heat."

"That's something for me to not look forward to," she sighed and went to the desk, picking up the battered book she had been getting the spells from. "If there was a way to make myself less appealing you would tell me, right?"

"Unfortunately, it isn't something I could assist you with."

This was, for the most part, how her days would go. She would look through books, reading various different spells. She ran across one she wanted to try. Turning an enemy into a sheep, she hummed and glanced back at the prone dragon that was draped across the end of her bed. She wondered if she would allow her to try that one on her. She filed it away for later, wondering at the need to turn someone in a sheep.

It could act as a deterrent, or maybe it could give her enough time to slip away. She hummed and glanced again at the dragon on her bed. "You are plotting something," she said and sat up. "And I am finding that I am regretting the fact that you are apt at magic and not something more useful like healing." She stood and warily went to her post at the door. "It would be better for me if you were a priest or a paladin instead of a mage."

"I could try to cast healing magic," she said as she turned away from the spell that detailed the requirements to shift someone into an animal. "Mages should be able to heal, too."

"It's not likely you will find spells like that in those books," she leaned heavily against the wall. "For the most part they focus mostly on magic. You will find arcane spells, fire spells, frost spells… those are the magics that sorcerers usually practice. There may be a stray spell for healing, but it's not common."

"A priest or a paladin?"

"Priests," she said patiently. "Practice their religion and preach it to those that willingly follow. They are often gifted with the ability to tap into the holy gifts to heal those around them and support those that might go into battle. Paladins are like priests, but they are more apt to go into battle with a shield and sword."

"Have you faced either of them before?"

"I have killed a priest before, one that was unfortunate enough to garner my attention. But, I have not faced a paladin in combat before. It has been some time since we have had anyone brave enough to come into the mountain that wasn't a dwarf or an orc," she sighed warily. "The dwarves are usually the only ones that fight us. The vast majority of the lower part of the spire is inhabited with them, He's managed to capture a few and force them into servitude. But, not all of them serve Him. Dwarves are very stubborn."

She thought back to the three dwarves she had met at her arrival. The female that advised her not to fight Victor's affections. But, if he pressed the issue she decided she wouldn't just lie down and take it again. She focused back on reading the polymorph spell again, brows drawn together as she tried to envision how it would go if she needed to use it. If she used it on him, perhaps it would increase the amount of time she would have to run if she decided to take that route.

She was so distracted by the possibilities that she didn't hear the doors scrape open. She didn't hear him enter the room and jumped when he came to press his nose into her hair. She sat stiff as he smelled her, praying that potion worked. He leaned down, pressing his cheek to hers. "Soon," he breathed into her ear. His tongue swept out to run along the shell of her ear. She shuddered, clenching her eyes closed. He hummed lightly and looked at the page she had been studying, "I will have to remember to make sure that I'm immune to that particular spell. Good effort though, my princess." He gave her shoulder a pat and walked out of the room as if he didn't create a torrent of fear in her.

Once the doors closed again, she crumbled against the desktop. Trying to calm her fluttering heart beat and the disgust that threatened to choke her. "I've got to get out of here," she swore.

She heard the other dragon came up behind her, there was a slight gait to her step otherwise she was sure she wouldn't have heard her approach either. There was a hum of consideration, "You may not be able to use it against Him. But, I am not immune to it. Neither is Insidion for that matter. It would be a plausible means for you to 'distract' your guards if you intend to try to flee on foot."

"It wouldn't keep him from catching me," she didn't bother to sit up. "It would just keep you and anyone else I might run across on my way out from getting in trouble."

"You have been looking at arcane magic enough, I think," the dragon closed the book. She to the shelves and plucked up another book, bringing it back to the desk. "Frost magic might be something you want to consider. Deep freeze is a spell that will freeze your enemy in place for a short time. If you decide against it, there's another spell," she took a moment to move the book she had fetched aside and open the other back up. After flipping through the pages in it she came across what she was looking for, "Mirror images. You could create false copies of yourself. They could be used as a means to distract Him and placed here."

"You're helping me," she stated lightly.

"No," the dragon argued. "I'm trying to give you a means to keep from losing out hope."

She glanced hopefully at her opened journal, "Would you be able to tell if I were ovulating?"

"Yes," she said simply. "Though He is likely more familiar with the scent than I am."

"Please, if you smell it," she looked back at the dragon. "Tell me."

She watched as the dragon's expression changed, she looked suspicious, "You've done something." Her brows drew together and she looked away from the princess as she seemed to assess something, "You told him you wouldn't give him children. That you wouldn't ovulate. You've done something to yourself." She gave a slight nod, though she wasn't willing to elaborate on just what was done. Her guard looked impressed, "A brilliant idea, if the idea of having halflings frightens you. A great sacrifice at that, if what you have done is permanent. Though, it is likely He will be very angry when He realizes that you won't be going into heat."

She bit her lip, she knew he would be. It would be foolish to make such a drastic decision and not think when he found out that he wouldn't be angry, "I will have to face the consequences when it does occur to him that he should have listened when I said I wouldn't give him children."

"Are you prepared for what may occur?"

"Can you really prepare for that?"

"You have one of two options, you can fight Him when He makes His advances and He will likely garner more enjoyment out of it. Or you can merely lie back and allow Him to have His way," she leaned back against the wall. "I can't say whatever reaction you choose to take will make Him draw it out as punishment." She looked away, though there was something on her expression that was telling. Sofia knew that they had been lovers at one point, but now she questioned whether or not her guard was a willing participant or not. "To prepare for the unwanted attention, you can either allow the enjoyment or you can hide away in your mind. I say allow the enjoyment, because no matter how much you may not want it He will find a way to play your body against you. He is a skilled manipulator."

"You didn't want him," she said her theory aloud. "But you still speak of him as if he is something great. He's nothing, but a monster. You're saying all this and it doesn't change your opinion of him. You speak of him with a reverence as if he deserves the respect."

Her guard smiled at her, "Respect is given to those that deserve it. If you see even an ounce of what He is capable of and foolish enough to not respect what He can do, then you will be bereft when you are on the receiving end of His true rage."

She swallowed, trying to not let it scare her. "You think he'll be angry when he realizes?" The dragon nodded and she felt afraid, she wasn't sure how much longer he would continue on with the charade before he realized she wasn't going to give him what he wanted.

The rest of her day was used practicing some of the easier spells. Obsidia was kind enough to allow her to turn her into a sheep. That spell itself amused her to no end. Seeing her usual stoic features replaced by a small fuzzily adorable features of a sheep. Somehow it managed an expression of disdain. She had to fight the urge to cuddle the little creature. After the first few casts she began to track the time that her companion remained changed into a sheep. "Is that enough?" The dragon was clearly unamused with her antics.

"Well," she grinned at her. "I had to be sure how long it would last if I was going to use this as a means of escape."

"You could have asked," the dragon deadpanned. "It lasts fifty seconds, exactly." She couldn't fight back the giggles that erupted from her, because it was hilarious. Coupled with the sheep's expression she found herself crumpled over laughing. The sheep bleated as it glared at her before the form melted away and the elven face appeared again. "I'm glad this amuses you," the sarcasm was so thick it practically dripped from her voice.

"I'm sorry," she snickered after a moment. "I don't know what I expected when I first cast the spell, but that … that not it." She wiped the tears from her cheeks sighed lightly. "I think I've got the spell down though, thank you for being a guinea pig."

She sniffed lightly, "Perhaps you should focus on some of the frost spells then?"

"I think I'm going to try to get some rest," she stood and went to her trunks, started to dig out a fresh night dress. The thought that she should have unpacked them occurred to her, but there was the knowledge that she would be leaving all the dresses behind when she was finally able to make her escape that kept her from doing it. Something told her she wouldn't be here long.

Once she prepared for bed she went to the bed and after a little bit of adjustments found sleep. Under the watchful gaze of the dragon in the room she felt strangely safe, even with the knowledge that the dragon was using her as a means to her own end.

She awoke the next morning to her dragon guard pressuring her more into attempting more frost magic. They went back out onto the balcony with a large battered tome and she read through it as the dragon looked out over her master's realm. "This will be more difficult. There's hardly any moisture in the air to draw from," it sounded like a complaint, but she was struggling to keep from whining. "The arcane energy seemed more readily available."

"I don't know why you say that," the dragon looked back at her, "we are nowhere near a leyline." There was a sigh, "I thought exploring a different segment of combat magic would entertain you. Give you something to occupy yourself with instead of focusing on the impending danger of being found out."

"You said there was also fire magic, with as dry as the air is out here I might have an easier time with that," she considered. There was a temptation to go back to the bedroom to find a book on the subject, she was sure there was one there.

"You are considering taking up arms against dragons," her guard argued. "We are fire breathing. Black dragons are of the earth and can bathe in lava as if it were water. Throwing fireballs at Lord Nefarian will do nothing to distract Him." She looked away again, "At most it may tickle Him."

She sighed lightly and tried to focus again, feeling out for moisture. Any of it. There had to be some way to tap into water. Trying not to allow herself to get frustrated with the apparent futility of it, she became distracted before she felt it. It was dampness. Sweat. She beckoned and it came to her readily. She managed it into a ball, making it freeze was harder.

"You're forgetting something," her guard quipped.

Her eyes fluttered open to see the swirling ball of water in front of her. It shifted and spluttered, but she managed to keep it together. "What am I forgetting?" She was struggling with a way to cast the ball of water into ice, "Oh right!" there was a spell. She flicked her wand and the water started to freeze, she felt the ice start to radiate from the swirling ball in front of her. The cold was almost a relief compared to heat of the mountain. With a determination, she cast the ball at the corner of the balcony. It went careening into the squat post, smashing into it with a crack when the ice busted. The stone looked unharmed though.

"Not bad," the dragon was looking in the direction the frozen orb had gone.

"I think I like arcane better."

"It doesn't hurt to try new things," she offered. "You could use the distraction."

"What are you trying to distract me from?"

"The looming shadow your husband has cast over you, of course. You look like a caged animal each time He comes to visit you and I thought giving your mind something to pick apart may help ease your fears. You are steadily becoming less and less defenseless," the dragon smiled at her, her expression almost appeared as if she felt pride for her. "While a polymorph spell isn't likely to work on Lord Nefarian, the offensive spells will. Not only does it offer you some hope, but it makes you feel less powerless, right?"

"Maybe a little," she looked away from her guard and approached the railing. "I want to try something."

"What is that?"

"The slow fall spell," she eyed the elf looking dragon carefully. "I don't know how many days I have before he realizes that what I said was true."

The dragon looked unsure, her brows drawn together, "I think perhaps it is better we practice that inside."

They walked back to her bedroom with her leading the way, they had traipsed often enough between the balcony and her bedroom that she had mapped out the way. "Are you afraid I will make a run for it today?"

When they entered the room the dragon closed the doors behind them, "No. It's more of a fear of you taking a leap off the balcony and you not having the spell cast correctly. I'd rather not sacrifice my hide to a botched spell."

"Well then, how do you suggest I learn the spell?"

"Jump off the bed," she smiled at her. "You always want to start from a shorter height."

There was something about jumping on the bed that made the prospect amusing, so she didn't protest. That and it was hard to argue the logic. She climbed up onto the bed with her wand in hand and, after affording herself a few hearty bounces, she cast the spell on herself. She lept off the bed and, after giving her dragon guard a smirk, floated slowly to the floor. "First try, too," she couldn't contain her pride.

"Don't get cocky," the dragon commented, though she did look impressed. "It is always a good idea to practice to ensure you have a good grasp of a spell."

"If you want to jump on the bed with me," she climbed back up onto the feather bed. "By all means!" She didn't bother casting the spell again, it lingered and she felt it with each jump she made, "You really don't need to be all stoic and 'grr' all the time."

That got a chuckle from her companion, "As tempting as your offer is, I would rather not be caught doing something I shouldn't."

"Alright," she made a mess of the bed, using the full length of the oversized piece of furniture. She bounced and flopped and flipped with the impressive fluff of her dress and petticoats all the while using the spell to ensure she landed lightly on the feather bed. She couldn't remember the last time she had done something so childish, but found herself having a grand time as she did. The slow fall spell would have proven so useful during flying derby practice. She thought of all the times she had plummeted from the back of Minimus and landed hard on a haystack, if she had known this spell she would have saved herself so many bumps and bruises.

"Sofia!" She paused, having taken so much enjoyment in the new spell she learned she had completely forgotten about the time or her companion.

She turned to see what the dragon raised her voice for and felt her stomach fall to her knees as she floated back down to the feather bed slowly. Victor, or Nefarian as she should really start thinking of him as now, stood in the doorway. He was watching her intently, his expression carefully blank. Her dragon guard looked stoic, but there was a look in her odd colored eyes that gave Sofia a clue to the fact that the creature was afraid.

"Leave us," he commanded her guard lowly.

The female dragon hesitated only a moment, their eyes connecting. She knew then that this was that moment that the dragon had warned her about. He knew. She swallowed hard as Obsidia carefully slipped past her master and left the room, closing the doors behind her.

He stood still in the doorway, his hands folded behind his back, his armor glowing with a foreboding that she felt. "I recall you telling me previously in the week that you would not be giving me children and that you would not be ovulating," he took a breath and stepped further into the room. "At first I thought you were just saying these things in anger, being that you are young and the young are prone to rebellion," he paused to eye her, seeming to look for something in her own expression. She tried to school her features to be blank, she didn't want to reveal her fear to him. Though, if he was able to smell it there would be nothing she could do about that. "But," there was a hint of growl in his voice. "You are well off schedule now. So that just leads me to believe that you have done something. That, again, I have underestimated you."

He approached her until he was standing within reach, if she were going to try to run it was too late. "I see you have been studying magic. Polymorph spells and other things. I find that under different circumstances I might have allowed you the opportunity to use your newfound skills," he looked calm, but she could see the burning in his eyes. She wasn't sure if it was anger or lust or, worse, a combination of the two. "Tell me what you have done," he commanded lightly.

She considered retaliating with her words, baiting him. But fear kept her from starting any sort of argument. It was apparent he was already angry. "I took a potion," she said as evenly as she could, trying to keep her fear from her voice.

"A potion," he hissed at her, growling lowly. "What potion did you take?" He reached forward and fisted a hand into the bodice of her dress. He jerked her closer, "Did you make it while you were here?"

"N-no," she replied shortly, planting her hands his breastplate to trying keep a distance between them. "I took this potion before I left Enchancia," she admitted.

He released her dress and took a step away, looking away as he considered her words. "You knew then, did you?"

"I suspected you were a dragon after you gave me the book, I knew there was something off before that," she told him truthfully.

He laughed a little bit, rubbing a hand through his beard as he considered something, "You have made this a bigger inconvenience than you realize." He looked at her, eyes narrowed and still burning, "Had I more time I could easily find a potion or spell to counter act what you have done. But, I hadn't realized how tenacious you could be or your apparent distrust for me would run so deep that you would do something like this." He growled lowly as he looked away and seemed to consider the trouble she caused, "I don't know how much time I have to undo this and how that will affect your damned body, but it will be done."

"You can't undo this," she started to argue. She hadn't thought that it could be undone. Her sorcerer had assured her that if she went this route she was giving up her chances of having children.

"You did this with a potion," he snapped at her, the anger coming out clear with the rise in his voice. "Magic and potions can be undone! You have no idea who it is your are dealing with, little girl," he hissed at her now. "I will have my way and you will be forced to suffer the consequences of your actions."

She shook her head, "I won't let you."

He spread his arms wide, turning to face her fully. "Stop me," he chuckled darkly. "I have been more than accommodating to you, I haven't touched you in a week," he looked pained for a moment. "I have resisted even after that morning," he inhaled sharply and glowered at her. "Not anymore though, princess." He started to step towards her and she acted before she thought.

She aimed her wand at him, arcane magic flooded readily to her at a thought. She shot it at him with a blast and she saw it hit. His arms went up to shield his face and he slid backwards with the force of the spell she flung at him. She didn't stop there, she had an arcane orb ready to follow the blast and she threw it at him in short succession. The arcane missiles would be best next, the violet beams hit him three times quickly. Her mouth was dry and she struggled to form another blast to lob at him, but somehow managed it. After it struck him though she lost the focus to pool the arcane magic to her call. She felt drained and thirsty in a way she had never before. Even when she practiced the spells.

After her last attack had struck steam rose from his crossed arms, his armor smoldered. She wondered if he had been phased at all when he lowered his arms. Through the smoke that rose from him he looked unscathed. "Powerful," he hummed. "But still unhoned. You drained yourself so quickly with all those powerful spells that you hadn't considered what to do once you depleted all your mana, had you?"

"Mana?" She felt confused and she crumpled to her knees on the bed. All of that and all she managed to do was make him smoke.

He took a moment to begin removing his gauntlets, "Mana. It's the 'energy' that all living creatures have. The more intelligent beings use it as a means to channel and use magic, whether as mages or clerics or what have you." With his gauntlets off next to go was his bracers, "There are spells that you can use to readily replenish it whilst in battle, you will want to learn them if you intend to put up a fight." Then too his pauldrons came off and fell to the floor, when he began to work loose the buckles of his breastplate she realized what was happening. And what his intent was.

She scrambled backwards until she hit the headboard of the bed, keeping her wand trained on him. She struggled to form another arcane orb to no avail. He seemed not at all concerned as he kicked off his boots, opened up his belt then stepped up onto the bed to close the distance between them. He loosened the laces to his legplates and eyed her hungrily, going as far to lick his lips before he began to reach for her. She cast the polymorph spell without a thought.

Though he appeared disoriented for a moment, unfortunately, he remained in the human guise he had taken. "Enough of this," he growled, snatching up her wrists and tugging her close. Her wand was shaken from her grip tumbling away and she whimpered when he pulled up her chin with one hand, the other like a shackle on wrists. "This could have gone so much differently had you not fought me in the beginning."

"I didn't fight," she found some courage. "But now I wish I had."

"It's never too late to start," he quipped before he caught her mouth. The kiss was searing as if she could feel the burning she saw in his eyes. It occurred to her, as his tongue swept along her own, that she didn't have to give up or give in just because he was stronger. So, she dug her teeth into his lip and tongue. He groaned, though he didn't tug away if anything he crushed their hips together so that she could feel his erection. It was enough to get her to let go, though there was a lingering taste of blood in her mouth. "You forget," he murmured against her lips, "I like biting."

With a jerk and a shove, he threw her down onto the bed. When she struggled to get away he pounced, keeping her from scrambling off the bed.

He forced her onto her back, sitting heavily on her hips and holding her hands above her head. He licked his lips as he looked down at her, she panted from the short struggle and glared at him. She tried to put all her anger and hate in that look, trying to force down the fear. "I won't stop fighting!" she breathed. "I won't buckle for you ever again! Each time you force yourself on me I won't just lay there and let you have your way!"

"Do you think that will stop me?" He raised his free hand and she watched, wide eyed, as his fingers darkened and sharpened into claws. "It will be troublesome," he remarked as his slipped his clawed digits between her skin and the collar of her dress. "But, it won't keep me from taking what I want and enjoying myself. Seeing you fight, seeing the fire in your eyes doesn't deter me at all, princess," he started to cut through her gown and, she swallowed hard, as he snagged a claw through the front of her corset, too. "I see that fire and I want to see more," he purred at her as he cut the bodice and corset part. "You are hindered by this poor frail body, though I enjoy it, I can only imagine if you were a dragon the type of mate you could be for me," he paused, sitting up as if the thought had intrigued something in him. "Halflings was a far fetched idea, but I wonder," he looked down at her now and she could see the new idea blossoming in his mind. "Give you dragon fire what kind of fight you could put up then."

"You're mad!" she snarled at him. "It's just as impossible as your other plan for me was," she bucked her hips up and tried to kick him, though she was hindered by the weight of him.

"Oh the things you can do with magic," he grinned at her, "You don't even know what is truly possible." He paused as he pulled the ripped fabric apart to expose her breasts, he cupped one and he leaned down to press his face against her exposed skin. "Oh, but if I put you into the body of a dragon I would miss these breasts." He groaned as he drug his tongue along one collarbone, "And your taste. Oh how I've missed it."

She closed her eyes and turned her face away as he seemed into distract himself with her exposed skin. She struggled, but his hand held hers above her head and it was like a vice. Each time she arched upward, trying to wiggle her wrists free, it only brought his attention downward and his mouth closed around one peak of a breast. Obsidia had warned her that he would manipulate feelings from her without wanting him.

He shifted and began to tug up her skirt, she could feel the tears starting to gather. She didn't want him setting her nerve endings on fire, but that was what he was doing. There was a rip and a tear then her petticoats were jerked down her thighs followed shortly by her bloomers. She clenched her thighs together and fought when he tried force his hand between them. A sob broke her, because there was no way keeping it down when she felt his palm against her heat.

A pounding cut through it all and she opened her eyes when the door scraped open. "I am busy," he growled from between her breasts glowering at the creature that interrupted.

It was Zachary, he stood in the doorway wearing plate armor and looking battered. "The dwarves are rebelling, again," he snapped back in response.

"Then kill them," Victor didn't seem to want to leave the position he was in, he seemed quite comfortable nuzzled up between her breasts and growling at the younger man. "That bit shouldn't be hard for you to figure out, boy."

The younger man's eyes flickered from his father to her, she could see the pity in his features when their eyes connected. "They've already breached the upper spire, My lord," his voice held some strain. "They have elementals that they subjugated from the Molten Core of the mountain. We are quickly becoming outnumbered and if they get any closer they will breach the rookery."

It drew a dark growl from the man that was on her. He sat up and she looked to meet his heated gaze, "We aren't done here." He released her wrists, though he stayed astride her hips, "Killing dwarves will do nothing to sate the hunger I have for you." He leaned down and caught her lips, kissing her hungrily. She shoved hard at his shoulder and he pulled back, "Keep that fire burning for me, my princess."

He stood and stepped off the bed, not bothering to replace the armor he had shed. "Stay in here," he growled at her. "In the event they get further into the upper part of the spire I'm sure they won't hesitate to come to kill you. So any foolish ideas you might have to escape are best saved for another time." He walked out the door to her room, brushing past his son.

"I'm sorry," the younger man offered before closing the doors.

"I think I'd rather face the dwarves," she growled out as she sat up. She made quick work of the remains of her dress, stripping it off and using the material to try to wipe the feel of him from her skin. It didn't work, but it made her feel slightly better. She went to her trunks and began to fling out the gowns in search for trousers, there had to be at least one pair in there somewhere. A fresh pair of bloomers were pulled on as soon as she came across them and she opted for a camisole versus trying to struggle into a corset. By the time she found herself a pair of trousers the doors were thrown open, she jumped and turned in fear of seeing her 'husband' again. Fortunately, it was her guard.

"Are you alright?" the female came in quickly, not bothering to close the door. Though, it was because she was followed by what she came to think of as Obsidia's consort. The male closed the doors and hung back, though it didn't keep him from eyeing her in her half dressed state.

She bristled and shot him a glare, "I'm leaving. Now. As soon as I can get dressed I'm getting out of here. I won't be able to stand being underneath him again." She started tugging on the trousers, "Don't try to talk me out of it. Damn the consequences."

"You're better off staying here," the male advised as he came to help her dig through her trunks. He found a pair of boots and handed them to her despite his words. "This is a diversion if I have ever seen one. It couldn't be more obvious unless they were waving banners for whoever charged them with making the attack."

"It's too dangerous for you to try to make any sort of escape now," the female dragon agreed, though both of them together seemed to work on helping her find her clothing so she could dress. "Dwarves are fierce fighters and stubborn, I don't think they would stop to question your presence and would try to strike you down if they came across you."

"Don't try to talk me out of it," she pulled on a blouse that was handed to her, tucking it into her trousers. "You two can use the opportunity to escape, too, I know you both want to. If you're gone you can't bear the consequences of him finding me gone."

"That is a good idea," Insidion paused as he seemed to consider it.

"We will not," the female dragon growled. "It's not time for that yet."

"If this is a diversion who would go to the trouble to set it up and why?" she said shortly as she glared at the female dragon. "And why not take advantage of it?"

"While I can't speak for the second part," another voice cut through their conversation. "I can tell you that I set up the diversion and it wasn't entirely a whole lot of trouble," there was a chuckle and they all turned to see Victor's sister standing in the doorway, watching them in apparent amusement. "Give a dwarf alcohol and an axe and all you really have to do is point him in a direction and he's ready to go to war. As for the why," she looked remiss, though Sofia was sure it wasn't genuine, "This farce has gone on quite long enough, darling. It is time we put an end to it."

* * *

I just really wanted to say that bit about dwarves. Give them enough beer and an axe and they're ready to kill anything! I'm really happy I got to add that bit in.


	19. Chapter 19

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story has adult material in it. This chapter is relatively safe, but man if you got through this far without reading any sex you need a cookie. I'm a huge pervert and I like to put sex in everything!

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

So, pulling it all together. This didn't take me as long as I thought it would. But, I figured it out I think.

* * *

"So you're here to kill me?" she asked, strangely feeling no fear. The prospect of her death wasn't as frightening as having the face Victor's advances again.

"That is what I intended the first time we met," the woman answered truthfully. "Nefarian persuaded me to wait, promising me that given the monthly schedule that female humans have he could easily get you impregnated within a week. I'm sure he put a great effort into it, despite how you might have felt. But, here I am. I have humored him. You are neither in heat nor are you pregnant, as I assumed you wouldn't be." She heaved a sigh, "He's neglected his duties enough. So, I am here to rid him of the distraction."

"She's not merely a distraction," Obsidia spoke up from her side, moving to stand between her and Victor's sister. "He's become obsessed," she folded her arms over her chest as she eyed the other female. "He hasn't laid with her since your last visit, honoring her wishes. He hovers over her as she sleeps and comes to catch her scent for heat on a daily basis. If you've come to kill her you will find that He will not be happy when He finds her dead." It wasn't a comforting thought, knowing that he would watch her sleep. She felt herself hoping it wasn't true.

"And how do you think he will react when he finds that you have assisted her in escaping?"

"We aren't assisting her," Insidion argued.

"Oh, don't be silly," Onyxia chuckled prettily. "I heard your entire conversation."

"If you kill her," Obsidia started to argue. "He will retaliate against you." Her hands were up and she looked as if she were trying to appease a dangerous animal, "Remember your rage when He pilfered your eggs from your clutch? He was merely being mischievous then. Imagine the damage He would inflict if you were to kill the object of His obsession?"

"Honestly," the male spoke up now. "Maloriak is proof that he wouldn't allow death to stop him. I wouldn't put it past him to place her into a corpse to keep her."

They were speaking about her future right in front of her and it was frightening and sickening at the same time. She had no idea the depths of his want for her was. She clutched her necklace, swallowing hard. "He mentioned something about turning me into a dragon," she whispered, not sure she really wanted to enter the conversation, it was a fear. "Tell me he couldn't do it." She felt all three sets of eyes on her, his sister's expression was grave. It didn't help the growing knot in her stomach when they didn't answer. It meant that either he could or that they didn't know.

"You make valid points," his sibling sighed, looking frustrated. "Have you considered a solution? Because I will not leave without fixing this problem."

She glanced to the male, he looked away. He didn't seem to be willing to offer ideas but he still lingered. The female in front of her sighed and appeared to relax. When she didn't say anything she considered the option herself, "Get me out of here."

"Where would I take you?" She chuckled then, "And tell me what you would do to keep him from retrieving you. If you appear back here, you will have to deal with me coming to kill you. This will be, of course, after he indulges in celebrating your return."

"You could take her to Wyrmrest Accord. The reds would keep her safe, the Lifebinder wouldn't allow him to take her back ," her guard seemed to be conspiring with her.

"I will not," was a growled response.

"You can take me home," she offered. "Come hell or high water, I will not let him bring me back here." She put a hand on the dragon that stood in front of her, "You and Insidion can take the opportunity to leave, too. That way you're not here to be punished for me being gone."

"It's a good idea," the male quipped again from behind her.

"While I don't object to your leaving or their leaving we are on borrowed time here," Onyxia said gravely. "The dwarves will only keep my brother distracted for so long. You wait too late and it will be too late. And I will not give you a second chance."

She moved around her guard and went to fetch her wand, finding it just under the bed. From there she grabbed her journal, she didn't have time to read any responses or give him any sort of warning. She wasn't about to overlook this opportunity, "Then we shouldn't dawdle."

"While I'm not going to encourage you to bring all your things, I do have a suggestion," the woman at the door took a moment to consider the book shelves that lined the walls. She pointed at one and after a moment a book slid from the shelf and crashed onto the floor, "It may be in your best interest to take that book with you."

She didn't question it and went to fetch the book, picking it up and holding it to her chest. "I'm ready to go," she assured the dragon. She then turned to the two that were her guards, "Do you know where you will go?"

"We will go far north," he spoke up over her guard. "Either to the sanctum or the shrine. But, despite her protests, we will be leaving at the same time as you. As Onyxia said," he moved to bump into Obsidia. "We need to leave now while we can."

"Let us go then," the woman in the doorway turned and threw open the doors with a flourish. She stepped out into the hallway and turned in the direction she knew would lead to the balcony. Insidion followed without any apparent concern.

Obsidia, on the other hand, caught her arm and made them hover just inside the doorframe. "I cannot protect you once you leave with her. I cannot help you once we leave," she said gravely. "The most I can do is send one of the reds to see to it that you have kept your end of the bargain with Onyxia and you have kept Him from taking you back." Concern crossed her elven features as she spoke, "He will be very angry when He comes to retrieve you. Do you have a plan to keep Him from bringing you back here?"

"I'll think of something on the way," she assured her. "I won't be coming back here, I promise you that." She took a moment to peer out into the hallway to make sure it was clear. "We can't waste anymore time." That said the dragon released her and they both hurried out to the balcony.

When they got there Onyxia was seated on the railing waiting while a dragon, twice the size of Zartharian as she remembered him, hung in the sky. "I hope you aren't having second thoughts," the beast in the sky growled. "We need to be gone. Now."

"As do we, little princess," the human looking dragon said.

Obsidia took her arm again, meeting her gaze intensely, "Be well. You are stronger than you appear and you will overcome this. I will keep my word and send one of the reds to ensure your safety."

She released a breath and, much to the dragon's displeasure she was sure, wrapped her up into a tight embrace. "I know you don't think you've helped me at all," she breathed as she clung to the elven guise's smaller frame. "But you have and I am grateful for all that you did for me."

"Let's go!" the dragon in the sky demanded.

"Be safe," she said to the dragon as she released her.

The dragon offered her a smile, it looked real, and moved to the railing. She didn't stop, hoping on to it and falling over. It was in moments that another dragon banked over the ridge on the other side of the valley. It was similar in size to the one that already hung in the size. It didn't turn back, it drifted northward and soon, the one that hung in the sky went to follow.

She watched until the remaining dragon cleared her throat. "I could easily kill you now," she observed. "There's no one here to stop me now."

"You could have easily killed me before," she looked at her without fear. "If you intend to, then do it."

"Do you tempt fate?"

"I tempt fate by standing here having this conversation with you. Before you came in, before the dwarves started their attack, he was holding me down on the bed and ripping my clothing off," her voice steadily started to rise and she could feel hysteria running through her veins as she clutched the two books to her chest. "You say you are here to take the distraction away from your brother, do it! Kill me or get me out of here!" She struggled to reel herself in and she could see the slight surprise in the dragon's eyes. She wasn't sure if it was due to the outburst or the actual content of which she saying. "Either way you are saving me regardless how you look at it. I can't face him again, I can't be in that position one more time or I will crack and there will be no putting me back together again. There won't be anything left to kill but a shell."

The dragon didn't respond for a moment, just looked at her as if she was assessing Sofia's character. She stood and with a slight incline of her head she began to be consumed by flame, much like Victor had the first time she had watched him turn into a dragon. The woman was soon replaced by a large dragon, similar in size to Nefarian and her look was about the same. The webbed spines were a vivid pink and lavender shined along her black scales. "I will carry you home then, little princess," her voice, despite her size, was quiet like a whisper and before she could protest or question her, the dragon plucked her up in one of her massive claws. With just a few flaps of her wings the behemoth was up in the air and began to glide into the direction of Enchancia.

The dragon's grip on her was firm, but there was an odd gentleness to it, as if she were taking care not to drop her cargo but not to harm it either. She shifted so that the wind didn't whip into her eyes, pressing her face against the underside of a digit. It wasn't scaled like the rest of her paw, but the was still protected by what felt like a thick leather hide. It proved to be a good shield. She wasn't able to judge the speed with which the beast was flying, but anytime she glanced down towards the ground it moved in a blur of gray sands.

She wasn't sure how she would explain this to her parents or how she would manage to keep from being stolen back. She had to think. She needed a plan before they landed. How do you keep a dragon from just taking what it wanted? There was something that prevented him from just taking her when he first saw her and decided he wanted her, but what was it? What made him concoct this whole plan to wed her and keep her? It wasn't love, that much she was sure of. Though at some point during his seduction of her, before they were wed he seemed to have developed something more than sexual infatuation. "What more could he want from me outside of sex?"

"You exude something different from other humans, girl," the dragon said as she flew. "What it is I can't place and if we had the opportunity I would encourage Nefarian to try to dissect it. But, he has other things he needs to busy himself with and I'm sure when the whelp said he had come obsessed with you is true. The chromatic drakes he's created are still unrefined and instead of working on making them more stable, for the past month he has done nothing but moon over you." There was a deep breath taken then huffed out of the beast carrying her, "It is inconvenient."

"You're not the first to say that," she considered, clutching the gem of the amulet. She wondered, did the amulet have something to do with it?

Much too soon, she felt, the dragon began to dive lower. She wheeled around once, giving her a view of the courtyard of her family's castle before she came to a landing just outside the main steps that led into it. The creature released a deafening roar that shook through her, making her ears ring. She was placed on the ground and she dropped the book and her journal in favor of holding her ears, in the event the dragon decided to release another bellow. "Do you have a plan?" it was asked in the human voice and she looked over her shoulder to see the dragon now in the guise of a human. "Do you know what you will do to deter him once he arrives?"

"Not yet," she stood, the roar still rang between her ears and she waited, knowing that there would be a response to it.

"Remember," she spoke lowly even after the cries of 'Sofia!' that came from the stairs behind them. "If he succeeds in retrieving you the next time you and I meet I will not humor you. I will end you." She turned, moving to put space between them. "Oh, and it's in your best interest to not kill him. He is the first son of the father of our flight. It wouldn't be taken kindly if you were to kill him."

"I can't kill him?"

"It would be in your best interest not to," fire erupted and before she could think of a protest the dragon towered over her. "I understand the desire to. But, if you do it will not end well in the long run. If you were able to garner his interest surely you are smart enough to find a way to repel him. Good luck, little princess." She leapt upward and, with a flap of her wings, was in the air, "I have hopes to not see you again." With that the big dragon wheeled away.

She stood there for a moment, watching her savior fly away. "I can't kill him, but I can't go back with him," she sighed and looked back towards the castle.

She turned to see her mother approaching, the older woman didn't hesitate to throw her arms around her. She tensed for a moment before melting against the older woman, "Please tell me that was him giving you back to us." Her mother clung to her, her cheek against her hair. It was so comforting, she closed her eyes and revealed in her scent. She almost forgot the impending disaster that would come to get her at any moment.

"I wish I could," she said shakily looking up and over her shoulder when she heard another person approaching. Her sorcerer lingered nearby, relief awash on his face when their eyes connected. She wanted to feel relief, too, but she knew that it wasn't over. She pulled away from her mother's comfort. "That was his sister. She wanted me out of the way so she brought me home. As soon as he realizes I'm gone he'll be here to take me back."

"We won't allow it," her sorcerer said gravely.

"I'll get Constable Miles and the guards to prepare for his arrival. I ordered a contingent of archers after we found out that Victor… what he really was," she heard her father and looked up to see him standing further back, he stayed a good distance away on the stairs as if he were afraid to approach. "We have catapults at the border, but I hadn't amassed an army yet to retrieve you. I needed assistance from our allies, that's what I've been working on all week." He took a step closer and she felt her mother tense, it was obvious that their relationship was strained. "Had I know, Sofia, you know I wouldn't have asked you to do this if I had known."

She wanted to be angry with him, she wanted to blame him for all that had happened. If her father hadn't been swayed by the wares that Victor had brought to the kingdom or the gold that he had offered in exchange for her hand. She wanted to blame him. "We don't have time for this," she said harshly, perhaps a little too harshly because she saw him pale. "We have to think of a way to stop him."

"Kill him," her sorcerer said quite easily, as if it wasn't something she had considered before. He had bent down to retrieve her journal and the book she had brought with her. Curiosity on his face as he looked at the cover of the book,"Problem solved easily."

"Can you handle it, Cedric?" her mother asked without a second thought. "Do you have a spell that can bring down a dragon that size? The one that dropped her off was huge!"

"I-I can find a way I'm sure," his brows drew together in concentration as he opened the book and started to look inside it. "Where did you get this?"

"It was apart of his collection," she explained without hesitation then forged right into what was more important. "We can't kill him," she started, watching the shock on her mother's face and seeing her sorcerer flare up to protest. "His sister just told me that I have to do this without killing him. If I kill him she and the rest of his flight will likely be here to take revenge. I have to do this without killing him!"

"Do you have any ideas how to do that?" Her sorcerer started to argue, stepping closer to her. "Because I have no idea how to expel a dragon from a kingdom that doesn't involve deaths of some sort! You can't be serious!"

"Are you saying we're going to be at his mercy?" her father had made the rest of the way down the stairs to join them, looking just as perturbed as her sorcerer did. "We can't allow this, Sofia."

"We don't have a choice," she snapped at her father, not thinking. She saw him flinch and he seemed to withdraw from the group. "The only choice is to send him back where he came from, without me. I won't be going back. If we kill him we will be declaring war on his flight and I don't think we could handle that."

Her sorcerer stepped away and went up the stairs, "Mother! Father!" He started barking out his complaints, "There's a dragon on the way and this foolish girl says we can't kill it!"

She watched and felt something akin to relief as a number of sorcerers seemed to join hers. She spotted his mother and father as well as the sorcerer from the neighboring kingdom. Also, "Mister Morshak." They came down the steps that led to the main driveway of the castle, surrounding her as they started to express their concerns. Her mother kept her arms around her, holding her close as they listened. Her father lingered just behind the gathering.

"There's no real way to deal with a dragon if you can't reason with it," Greylock protested as he looked at her. "We've never really had a problem with them in Rudistan, but I can't imagine us being able to deter it if it's set on keeping you as it's treasure."

"You think if we killed this one it would start a war?" her sorcerer's mother asked, concern clear on her face. "How can you be sure that would happen? What is the significance of this one dragon?"

She pulled away from her mother, starting to feel overwhelmed. "His sister is who dropped me off, she told me that this is my only chance to be sure that I stay here and alive. If I killed him she would be forced to avenge him, if his father didn't see the need to. He is significant, he's the first son of his flight." She shakily ran her hands through her hair as she tried to steady hersellf, "If he manages to claim me again she'll kill me. There has to be a way to get out of this without being taken back to Blackrock Mountain and without killing him."

"We could try banishing him to a stone," Goodwin speculated as he stroked his mustache. "That's not killing him, I don't see how it wouldn't work."

"If he's in a stone," Winifred objected, "He's not likely to be able to eat or drink and he'll surely starve. It's not death but it would be eventual. I can't imagine that his sister wouldn't find a way to blame that on her."

"It's an idea," she said, feeling slightly better. It was an idea a desperate one. "I don't know how much time we have to plan this." A roar seemed to resonate in the distance, "Anymore ideas?"

"If you can banish him," her sorcerer hovered close. "Even if it's just temporarily, we can use the time to ward the castle from him."

"We would need his blood," his mother interjected.

"Miles! Have the archers get into position," her father commanded from behind them. "We should move this discussion into the castle and get out of the open." He slipped between the sorcerers that were discussing a course of action, he put a hand on her mother's shoulder. "Let's hurry before he arrives."

Her mother jerked out of his grasp and glowered, staying close to Sofia. It was clear that she wouldn't be leaving her side. There wasn't time for this, there wasn't time for objections or squabbles between her parents. She felt it then she saw the black bolt of him racing through the sky towards them. He was large and fearsome when he crashed into the ground, because he hadn't bothered to slow his flight, it made the ground beneath her feet quake. He didn't stay a dragon though, that vision of him shrank and was quickly masked by his human guise. It looked battered and there was a distinct look of unease in his face as he stepped out of the indention he had created in the dive. "Roland, Miranda," his voice boomed and he sounded as if he was pleased to see them, as he had been the last time he had came to Enchancia before they were wed. "It's good to see you again," he gave a chuckle as he put his hands behind his back. "I wish I could say it was under better circumstances. But," he gave a slight shrug. "Unfortunately, it's not. I'm glad to see that you have my princess in good health. I've come to fetch her and bring her back home now."

"Never," her mother hissed at him, striving to put herself between Sofia and Victor. "You can't and you won't be taking her back."

"Archers ready your bows," her father called as well, moving through the throng of people to stand beside her mother. "You have played me for a fool, our agreement is void. You won't be taking my daughter back."

She watched as he eyed her parents in apparent amusement, he even went as far as to laugh at their declarations, "Oh. I'm sorry little mortals. You'll have to forgive me." He chuckled and went as far to look as if he were wiping away a tear that had been drawn by his amusement, "I just can't help but think how funny it is that you think you can stop me." He met her father's gaze, "You've found me out Roland, you can't tell me that with my impressive entrance that you think you can really do something with a few archers." He raised his arms up in the air, "You and I made a deal! I have paid you a great deal and so far all I have to show for it is a bit of wood and a little lake. I've only had your daughter in my tender," she shuddered as he purred the word, "care for just over a month. That's hardly adequate time for her to produce an heir for me."

Her mother buckled, she turned to her and she could see the fright in her eyes. "Sofia," her voice quaked.

"Now," the dragon in human guise continued. "Now, that embarrassing little detail is out in the open, whatever will you do with your daughter now? She's no longer pure. Trust me," there was a low growl in his voice as he boasted. "I took great pleasure ensuring that she isn't."

"You bastard," was growled somewhere from her left, she thought from her sorcerer.

He didn't even seem to register the insult, "What use do you have of her now? Even if you annul our marriage, our marriage that was consummated I might add, who will want a despoiled princess?" He sounded so reasonable as he spoke to her father, "She is already mine, Roland. Just allow me to have her back and no one shall be harmed in this little… disagreement."

"You will not," her father's voice didn't lose it's commanding tone even in the face of the monster. "You have fooled me once, but no matter the horrors that you have committed against her I will not allow you to have her back. She is my daughter. I'm not fool enough to give her to you again."

"That's unfortunate," Victor said lightly. He took a moment, dropping his arms and licking his lips as he spoke. "I've been accommodating as I can be in this situation. I gave you the opportunity to do the right thing. If you refuse to meet my demands, humans, I will just have to take what I want by force." His eyes connected with hers and he folded his arms over his chest, "Do you really want that? How well do you think this will end for you or for your family? Come back to me, my princess, where you belong and I will be lenient. But if I have to use force there will be casualties."

"I'm not yours," she said evenly. Her mother moved to her side, wrapping her arms around her again as if she thought she could keep the monster from her.

This time he spoke it was as if it were just him and her, all her loved ones and friends that were at the ready to protect her weren't there. "Don't be foolish, girl. I have claimed you as you have claimed me. There is no argument to it," he dropped his arms from in front of her chest and waved her forward, as if she would come. "You can't deny that moment you freely gave me. The others you might not have, but that moment… that one you did. Do you really wish to discuss how you claimed me before your family? I'm not really an exobisionist, but I'm willing to share the dirty details if I must."

She felt her mother beside her tense again and she felt another hand on her shoulder, she looked to see the elderly sorcerer behind her. "You can break it," he spoke lowly and she felt a hilt being pressed into her hand. "A bit of yours and his blood, you'll find the words and you can break it."

She nodded, looking to meet the dragon's gaze again. She wasn't sure if he heard or not, she carefully moved the dagger up the sleeve of her riding jacket. He didn't give any indication that he had heard, she shrugged her mother off and she pushed past her father. She saw a bit of relief on the dragon's face as her father tried take hold of her shoulder and she shrugged him off as well. He reached to her, offering his hand as she stepped out of her father's grasp and went to him. She twisted the dagger so that she could feel the sharpness of the blade against her skin, when she was within reach his hands were on her shoulders and he pulled her close into an embrace. She felt his lips against her brow and he murmured, "Good girl, good girl. I promise, I will be good to you from now-" he cut off just as the blade bit into her skin. He jerked her back and away, brows up and concern clear on his features. Did he smell the blood? "What are you doing?"

A flick of the blade and it ripped through the sleeve of her riding jacket, "Bound to you with my blood." The words came to her in a rush, out of nowhere they were out of her mouth as she swung the little dagger upward. Had she been aiming for his throat? He dodged backwards, but not before the blade sliced through the skin of his jaw and up his cheek, "Bound to me with yours, I break our bond and forsake your claim. I am yours no more and you are no longer mine," it hissed out of her like a curse and she saw his features twist in a rage.

"And it can be done again," he growled and she stumbled backwards as the fire started to burn in him at terrifying rate. "It seems," he growled as he grew and his form shifted back into a dragon. "That you have made the decision to go with force," one of his paws knocked her back and pressed her to the ground. "You will be mine for as long as I want you," his voice shook through her and bellowed through the courtyard. "And no magic can change that."

"Archers fire!" Her father commanded.

"Get her! Get her out from under him!" Her mother's voice was frantic. "Don't let him take her from us again!"

"Prepare a barrier to protect us!" The command was from Enchancia's retired royal sorcerer, "In the event he goes to attack! We must protect the King!"

The dragon that had her pinned roared his anger then opened his maw and fire rolled out from it. "No!" she looked to where her family was and she couldn't tell what was happening from this vantage point. 'I have to save them!' The dagger still clutched in her hands she looked up at the paw that held her pressed to the ground. She shifted until she had her hands free and with a cry she jammed the blade into the fleshy part between the digits of his paw. He roared and she jerked the blade out only to drive it in again, hoping if she caused him enough pain he would let her up. Another stab delivered and she was able to scramble out of his grip.

She was up and running towards her family when the gem around her neck began to glow with a brilliant flash. 'End this,' the words echoed to her.'Save yourself to save them!' Keeping the dagger clutched into one hand, she found her wand with the other. She wheeled around and pointed it at the dragon, "I don't know what to do. What do I do!"

'End this.'

She pointed her wand at the dragon as he roared and began to bare down on her again. She needed words, she needed a plan! She needed to save herself! "I banish you! Go back to whence you came," like before the words came tumbling out of her. "Back to the earth that bore you and back to the fire that bred you! I banish you from this land!"

A green light shot from the tip of her wand and, as if he predicted it, the big dragon jumped up. He dodged the green blast and it hit the earth where he had been standing. A flap of his mighty wings and he landed again heavily, "Nice try, princess." He rumbled at her as he peered down, amusement clear on his scaled features. "I would think you had learned you haven't quite got the magical snuff-" his taunt was cut off and he turned slightly, as if something had distracted him.

He shifted backwards and it was apparent that he hadn't done it of his own accord. His claws drug trenches into the earth. He growled lowly and started to march forward, towards her. But then he was tugged backwards again. "What is this?" he hissed out impatiently, turning to see just what had a grasp on him. Whatever it was seemed to pull him backwards in earnest, tugging him down as if the ground he stood on was no longer solid. There was a fearful noise from him and he struggled, wings kicking up wind as he struggled to free himself.

His eyes went wild and then they connected with her, this massive dragon glowered at her in fear. "What have you done?" he demanded before the pull of the earth began to drag him down in earnest. Soon his hind legs were gripped by the earth and he was swiftly sinking, "What have you done!" He clawed at the ground, trying his best to prevent the inevitable. But, still, he sank as if he were gripped by quicksand and soon more of him was swallowed by the earth.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, then another. She couldn't look away as the dragon bellowed in rage and fear until his horned head was out of sight. Then the desperate grasping claws sank with it. The earth had swallowed him whole. "What did you do?" her mother's voice quaked.

"I… I don't know," she couldn't stop staring at the place he had been, the shine of her necklace still radiant. She could still see the purple glow. Had it given her the words to the spell?

"She banished him," a gruff, amused voice offered. "She banished him to the earth from the looks of it." She turned to see the elderly wizard approaching, he had a pleased look on his face as he pulled the dagger from her grip. "Well done, princess," he held the dagger up for everyone's inspection. "She also got us quite a bit of dragon's blood, too," he waved a wand and she watched as crimson liquid was pulled from the darker stained liquid that clung to the blade.

"You know," Greylock came to inspect the blade, adjusting his monocle. "I hear dragon's blood fetches a right good price in some circles."

"We won't be selling it," her sorcerer shouldered him aside and took the dagger from the older wizard. "We'll be needing every bit of it to make sure that he doesn't come back."

"Come back?" she shook her head. "What makes you think he could come back?" She waved her hand to the ground where the dragon had been before. "The ground practically ate him! How could he come back from that?" Then it occurred to her, "The trolls! What about the trolls! Could he be in their caverns?"

"You banished him, princess," her sorcerer's father tried to calm her. "From what it looked like you banished him to the earth as Morshak said. The trolls that live below the castle wouldn't be bothered too much, I don't think. The dragon was dragged through the earth until it took him to an appropriate prison. A right good spell and idea, child. I wouldn't expect you to know such a thing." He looked to his son, "Did you teach her that?"

"I wish I could say I did," he sounded irritated. She watched as he pulled the dragon's blood from the dragon and put it into a vial. "We have a lot of work ahead of us to ensure that when he does get loose from the banishment that he can't come back into Enchancia. I'll need each of you to cover every angle of the border," he offered up the vial, being the first to dip his wand into it. "Let's make quick work of it."

"You think he'll get free?" she hated the way the fear sounded in her voice. "Will he come back up in the castle grounds?"

"Magical banishments are temporary," Winifred said as she stepped forward and dipped her own wand into the vial full of blood. "Though I imagine it will take him time to get loose and then claw his way from the ground. We should have enough time to protect Enchancia and ward him from returning."

"Let me help then," she stepped forward, raising her own wand. "Let me help finish this."

"You've done enough," her sorcerer snapped at her. "You're wounded and you have used enough magic today."

"Let us get you inside," her mother wrapped her arm around her middle. "You're finally home I think you should rest," she pulled up her hand, looking worriedly at the wound she had inflicted on herself. "You're still bleeding and we need to take care of this."

"Constable Miles keep the archers at the ready and set guards up all around the parameter, we won't let our guard down until the sorcerers have confirmed we are safe. Baileywick!" Her father left her side and started walking up the stairs to go back into the castle, "Sofia is injured and in need of a doctor. Have one come to the castle immediately."

She was soon drowned out by the sudden movement as she was tugged forward toward the castle. She was surrounded and overwhelmed with the concern and love that seemed to come from everywhere. Her arm was bandaged and everyone seemed to exude so much happiness at seeing her.

She was home. And she was free.

* * *

I had to have Sofia save herself. Originally, I had planned for Cedric to save her. But along the way in the last chapter I realized it would be best to have Sofia save herself. And I know there was a bunch of you that were dying for Sofia (or Cedric) to just kill Victor, but I couldn't do it. Don't worry. I'm not going to make a sequel out of this. But it's not quite done either. I gotta do an epilogue and I have some extras that I've been kicking around. Plus, I totally have to get Cedric and Sofia to bone. Sexual healin', amirite?

Cheers!


	20. Chapter 20

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story has adult material in it. This chapter is relatively safe, but man if you got through this far without reading any sex you need a cookie. I'm a huge pervert and I like to put sex in everything!

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name. I also felt the overwhelming need to put Krasus in it. Because he seemed like a great person to wrap things up with.

* * *

She hadn't been able to relax since she arrived home. There wasn't much comfort as she had hoped there would be. She couldn't sleep in her bed. The smell of him seemed to still cling to it even after it had been well over a month since he had last been in it. It might also have something to do with the memory of all that they had done in her bed. The things she had allowed him to do. She was ashamed of herself.

She didn't have the watchful eye of her guard on her either. She didn't realize how much she had grown attached to the female dragon. But she wished to see her stoic features and odd looking eyes. She had pressed her to study magic and learn combat spells. She had fortified her hope and given her a reason to keep pushing forward.

But, now that she was in the safety of her castle, locked away in her room, she lost direction. Where did she go from here?

Her mother lingered by her side as much as she could, only leaving when fatigue took her did she part from her side. She found herself wondering if her mother and father still shared a room. Would this strain that had been placed between them tear apart their marriage? Could her mother forgive her father? Did she want that? She wasn't sure. She didn't know what she wanted.

When the sorcerers finally returned after warding the kingdom it had been a week, a trying one. She slept little and felt as if Victor was looming over her, having clawed his way up from the earth and finally managed to get his hands on her again. She had a nightmare where she was stuck under him again, as she was on the bed before her escape. The pain she felt in her dream was so real. Could he get loose so quickly?

She wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon. Knowing that her sorcerer had returned, she got up from the window seat, the place she had been sleeping since she came back to Enchancia. She found her robe and wandered out of her room, going to the one place that had been her solace before the whole ordeal with Victor had begun. Before she had been taken away.

When she got to his door she wasn't even sure what time it was, she hadn't even thought. It was likely to be well past what he considered 'working hours.' But when she saw the light below the door, she didn't resist giving the door a careful tap.

The door was tugged open and her sorcerer stood in the doorway, he looked surprised. "Princess?"

"I know it's late," she paused then pushed a stray lock behind her ear. "Or I assume it is, I'm not really sure what time it is. But, um…" she was babbling and she had to keep herself on track. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind some company?"

He didn't say a word, he stepped aside and with a sweep of his hand motioned her in. Once she entered he closed the door and there was something about the sound of it closing heavily that made her tense. She took a breath and then slowly released it. She felt him, close by, but not touching her. "Are you alright?"

"Sorry," she smiled weakly. "Somethings take some getting used to. Again," she laughed a little uneasily before sighing. "I had a nightmare. And…" She trailed off, not sure she could delve into what her nightmare had been about.

He walked around her and sat down in his chair, eyeing her wearily. She was sure, by the expression on his face, that he knew. Or he had an idea about what her nightmare had been about. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," she sighed and went to sit beside him on her stool. She smiled lightly. He had kept it in its place even after she had left. She looked down at him, at the angle she was seated slightly above him. "Honestly, I'd rather forget the whole thing ever happened. I'd love to go back to the way things were before… before Victor came to Enchancia. I'd give anything to have everything that happened just go away." Her voice sounded strained and she thought she felt the tears burning their way up her throat, "Is there a spell you can cast? Something you can do to take all of it away?"

She knew the answer even before he started shaking his head, "I couldn't. Merlin knows I would give anything to have the power to do so. But, you know that I can't." He hesitated then, she felt the warmth of his palm against her cheek. His fingers were warm, the light linen of his fingerless gloves brushed away her tears, "I'm sorry I told you to agree to be with the monster. I'm sorry I wasn't able to save you from him."

There was something comforting about his touch. She tilted her head, sighing as the familiarity of his scent seemed to wash over her. "I saved myself," she smiled at him at last. "But you helped more than you even know." She looked away, nerves suddenly taking her. If this had been any other moment, she would have given in and leaned into him. She would have happily closed the distance between them and kissed him. She had done it before, but now … not with the memory of Victor so fresh on her mind she didn't think she was able. "I'll need help sleeping," she said timidly. "I can't get comfortable in my room."

His hand dropped and he stood, "I have sleeping potions ready, your mother has been depending upon them since you left. Doubly so after we found out about … well… you know. I don't know that she hasn't sent for any since you returned. I've had my hands full." He went to his potions cabinet and plucked out a vial. "We finished our duty, ensuring the dragon can't cross the border between our countries again. At least, not in our lifetimes."

"How long do you think he'll be banished? Is he locked in the ground below the castle?"

"Honestly, I hope not," he brought the vial to her and sat back down. "Sadly, I don't know for sure. Though I know you worry for the trolls."

She took the vial and stood, hoping the comforting feeling he gave her would stick with her. "This will keep me from having nightmares, right?" He gave her a nod, "I'll have to come back for more."

"I'll be making more then, if my apprentice is up for it she is more than welcome to assist," he sounded almost nervous as he spoke. He rubbed his hands together and it was obvious that he was unsure with how to handle her. She wanted to smile at him and try to brush away his uneasiness, but she wasn't sure she could. She didn't think she could hug him like she used to, not with the shadow of another man cast over her.

"I'll help, if you don't mind the company," she felt shy suddenly. "Would you mind if I visited a little more than I used to?"

"I have no objections," he seemed to fidget and she wasn't sure to be flattered or upset.

It was never this way before, she forced a smile and forged through it. "I'll see you in the morning then."

"Goodnight, princess," he said warily, guiding her to the door and opening it to allow her out.

She went back to her room and shot back the potion with a grimace. Would things ever go back to normal? She wasn't sure what normal was anymore.

She returned to her usual habit of visiting him a daily basis. At first he would have her just sit and observe, which was boring. The second day she brought the tome that she had stolen from Victor's collection. It was the first time she really looked at it, "The Book of Medivh. Do you know who Medivh is?"

He was grinding some herbs into a fine paste while she was seated on her stool beside him, "I've heard of him, but I can't say that I know exactly who he is. Or rather was. From what I understand he was an incredibly dark wizard."

"That explains some of the spells that I've read in here," she turned a page. "A lot of the magic seems really dark."

"Magic isn't dark," he argued as he carefully started to put the past into a bubbling cauldron. "The user on the other hand is, but not the magic." He continued to work on his potion as he spoke, "Magic that's truly corrupt and evil is of a different sort. We won't practice that."

"Like necromancy?"

"Necromancy is a good example," he said evenly, in a teaching frame of mind that she enjoyed.

"Do you have any idea why such magic was created?"

He shrugged his shoulders, pointedly not looking at her, "It's hard to say. There are times when a man achieves a certain type of power that makes him hungry for more. The thirst for more power can drive men to darker routes to achieving it."

She turned a page, looking back at the book on the table in front of her. "They left a portal spell in here," she murmured to herself, eyeing the instructions hungrily. She felt him lean close to her, she could feel the sleeve of his robes brush against her bare arm. She wore a gown, a pale violet that was just a shade darker than her usual lavender and had lovely lace sewn into the slight sleeves and bodice. Feeling his robe skim just over her skin made gooseflesh rise and she found herself distinctly aware of how close he was to her as he read over the spell.

"I think the reason why they left it in the book was because of the requirements and ingredients," he pointed at a line of text. "You would have to build a doorway and then sacrifice innocents to open the portal. That and it was likely that they portal wouldn't have brought you here," he continued as he read further. "It says it opens to another world. That may be why it was left in the book."

"You don't think I could have cast it?"

"After seeing what you did to that dragon," he pulled away and went back to his potion, "I honestly wouldn't put any spellcasting past you. However, I hope… I hope that you would find it difficult to sacrifice an innocent."

"You know I couldn't," she sighed lightly, turning the page again. She didn't bother to read the rest of the instructions on the spell. "I keep hoping this book will give me a reason why Onyxia told me to take it with me."

"Maybe you'll find out when you finish reading it?"

A knock interrupted their conversation and she turned to see the castle steward opening the door. "Excuse me," he cleared his throat and looked uneasy. "Princess Sofia, there is a visitor here for you. He says that he came from a place called Dalaran."

"A sorcerer's city," her sorcerer offered when she looked at him. "Think of Hexly Hall, but there isn't children there. Sorcerers go there to expand on not just what they learn, but experiment. A lot of the new spells that's taught at Hexly is derived from Dalaran."

She looked back at the castle steward and felt nervous, "Did he say what he wanted?"

"Why do you look nervous?" her sorcerer asked irritatedly, at first she thought it was directed at her but then noticed him glaring at the steward. "Did he state his business with the princess?"

"He isn't human," the older man clarified. "I've never seen an elf so close before. He didn't come with any sort of entourage. He merely knocked on the front door and asked to speak with the princess."

"Let's go find out what he's here for then," her sorcerer plucked up two wands and offered her one. "Where is he?" She took it then on a whim picked up the book she had been reading, going to follow.

"The king's study," he turned to lead the way. "I was told to fetch Constable Miles after I escort you there. I'm sure he won't mind you coming along as well, Cedric."

"I don't care if he bloody well minds," he growled lowly as they followed the steward. To her surprise, the older man didn't protest or chide him for his remark or profanity. Maybe her mother and Cedric weren't the only ones that held grudges against her father for marrying her to Victor. It was curious. Though, it made her feel a bit better.

When they got to the door the steward opened it for them and announced their entrance, "I give you Princess Sofia of Enchancia and Cedric the Sensational."

Her father stood, giving her sorcerer a slight nod in greeting and offered her a smile. It looked pained. Guilt clung to the man as he uneasily sat back down behind his desk. "This is Archmage Krasus. He was asking for an audience with you, Sofia."

Another man stood, though it was quickly evident by looking at him that he wasn't really a man. He stood a head taller than her sorcerer, even her father, his hair fell down around his shoulders and was so blonde it looked nearly white. His eyes were blue, but seemed to glow in the way Obsidia's did. He was dressed in black and gray robes that bore crimson detailing. He wore large pauldrons that seemed to glow, much in the same way Victor's had. He was handsome and otherworldly and there was something about him that seemed to resonate with her. His ears parted his hair and stuck out in broad points. He looked like an elf, much as her dragon guard had. "Princess Sofia," he said as he bowed slightly. "It is a pleasure to meet you," he smiled brilliantly at her, his voice was low and there was something about it that sounded almost musical.

"Archmage Krasus?" she asked curiously, eyeing him warily. "Archmage?"

"I am a ranking sorcerer in Dalaran. Where I teach, among other things," he explained politely. He offered the chair beside the one he had just vacated, in front of her father's desk. "Sit, perhaps we could speak?"

She shot a glance over her shoulder at her sorcerer before she moved to sit in the chair. Cedric hovered close by, taking up post to her right. "May I ask how I managed to get the attention of an Archmage?"

"Actually I was asked to come and check upon you, we were made aware of the ordeal you faced in the hands of a black dragon," he said uneasily, watching her carefully.

That was it, she hummed lightly. Watching him intently now for any other clue he might give. "Dragons have ties with Dalaran?"

His eyes narrowed slightly, "The blue flight is known for their magic." It wasn't really an explanation.

"So," she decided to test the theory. Because, like with Victor, there was something nagging at her. He wasn't what he appeared to be. "Are you a blue dragon then?"

He looked taken back, the shock was apparent on his features. He didn't react when her sorcerer pulled out his wand and leveled it at him or when her father stood, "Baileywick, summon the guards!" He merely stared at her in astonishment.

"I have lived among humans for quite sometime," he said evenly. "Very few are aware that I am a dragon." He shook away a perturbed look, "To answer your question, no. I'm not of the blue flight. I am of the red flight."

Then it made sense, "Obsidia made it to her destination?"

He gave a slight nod, not paying any mind to the wand directed at him. He did cast a look to her father, "I mean you nor your daughter no harm. There is no need for your guard. I am doing just as I said. Checking up on her." Several had already filed into the room, there was spears aimed at him and several of the guard had their shields at the ready. None of which seemed to concern the elfish man seated before her father's desk.

"I escaped Victor's mountain several weeks ago," she told him lightly. "She told me when she escaped, also, that she would send for a red dragon to come ensure my safety."

"A little late, aren't you?" her sorcerer asked snidely. "We could have used you when he came to take her back."

"That is, of course, my fault," he said evenly. "When they black dragons arrived at the Temple I was dismissive and did not want to believe the story of a human female that was taken by their master. It's not often that dragons concern themselves in human affairs. I couldn't see reason that Nefarian would take a human to keep, not with his flight's disdain for them." He looked away from her and it was clear he was uncomfortable, "My queen commanded that I come to investigate. I tried my best to deter her, telling her it was no concern of ours. But, she wouldn't be deterred."

"Their story was true," she said lightly. "Victor-or rather Nefarian coerced my father into giving my hand to him. We weren't aware that he was a dragon and didn't find out about it until well after we had been wed."

"Are you aware of what he came to your kingdom for? Or was it just for your hand?"

"He originally approached us to negotiate an exchange of ore for water and wood," her father spoke up. "He came to Enchancia and stayed with us for about a week. It was before the end of his visit, right before he left actually, that he put in the request for her hand."

"Did he say why he was making the request?"

"The water and wood were to meet the needs of his people," her father said lightly. "My daughter …"

"He wanted children," she answered for her father. "That was his main want, when he told me his reasoning for requesting my hand."

Krasus's brows drew together, "Children? After you found out that he was a dragon was that still his reasoning?" She nodded and he looked perplexed, "There are many cases among the different races that inhabit our world mixing together, producing mix breeds. But I cannot say I have ever heard of a case of a human and a dragon producing offspring." He looked at her concerned and gave the air a brief sniff, "You are fortunate you aren't with child now then."

"I'm not with child because I took a potion that would keep me from getting pregnant," she said lightly, casting a glance back at her sorcerer. He had replaced his wand, back up his sleeve, and stood eyeing the dragon cautiously.

"I didn't know you did that," her father gasped and when she looked at him, his expression was mournful. "You have made so many sacrifices, I don't think there will ever be a way that I could make it up to you."

She didn't answer, not sure she could offer him any real comfort. She couldn't fix herself or change the situation he had placed her in. "It was after he revealed himself that he seemed still keen on the idea. He informed his sister about it-"

"Was she also in on the plot?" the dragon asked quickly.

"No," she answered evenly. "She actually came to kill me, Obsidia convinced her that it wasn't the best course of action. So, she brought me home instead." She looked at him curiously, "I was sure what he wanted wasn't feasible. Is it?"

He looked unsure and could only offer her a shrug, "Honestly, I've never seen a case of it. Our physiology is so different it would be hard to. A female dragon wouldn't be able to birth a halfling babe. She lays eggs. No offense to you," he paused to look at her father then the sorcerer by here. "But I doubt that a human male's essence would be enough to fertilize a female dragon's eggs. In the case of a male dragon and a female human," he grimaced as he seemed to consider it. "Perhaps it could be probable, I could only imagine the horrors he would have to subject you to make it happen. Nefarian has created many abominations that defy the laws of nature. Some of which I would rather not have knowledge of, but unfortunately do."

If he had truly wanted it and had been given the time to consider a way, he might have been able to do it. The thought sickened her. Her stomach clenched and twisted into a knot; all the things that he wanted from her, to do to her, were feasible. She felt a hand on her shoulder and it pulled her from the dark thoughts, "It didn't happen and it's not going to." She looked up at her sorcerer and smiled.

"Perhaps it's best we move on from the disturbing talk, or less disturbing talk I should say," the dragon adjusted himself in his seat, giving the spears that were aimed at him a fleeting glance before he continued. "How was it that you managed to keep Nefarian from returning you to Blackrock Mountain?"

"I banished him to the earth," she said simply, feeling uncomfortable still. Cedric kept his hand on her shoulder, as if he knew she needed the support.

"You did?" the dragon look surprised. "Not your mage?"

"I did," she confirmed, wondering if she should be offended that he asked.

His surprise melted from his expression, "He underestimated you then, as have I. Do you have formal training?" Then his gaze when down to the gem around her neck, "The Amulet of Avalor, were you wearing it while he held you captive?"

She nodded and wrapped her fingers around it, "I never take it off."

"It's very likely he wasn't aware of the power your necklace holds," the dragon explained. "There is a special detail about it that you might find interesting. It is used to better the wearer, but it also has the ability to affect those close to the wearer. I imagine if you had stayed with Nefarian that the necklace might have purified him of his corruption, as well as the drakes that were in servitude to him."

"Are you saying I should have stayed with him?"

"No, oh no, that would have a been a terrible thing," he said quickly though he forged on with the idea. "Even if the Amulet of Avalor was able to purify the corruption created by Deathwing it would have still taken some time for it to save the black dragonflight. I don't imagine what that would do to you. The actions you took were good. Nefarian and his father can be stopped, but that is not something that you or your family should concern yourself with. It is something that we, dragons, should handle." He cleared his throat, perhaps seeing the distress on her features, "I just couldn't help but wonder if the gems power could be replicated and if it would have any lasting affects on someone like Nefarian."

"So you are going to address what is left in the mountain?" she asked. "I saw many things I wish I hadn't while I was being kept there. There were a lot of baby dragons, whelps, there. Are you just going to leave them there?"

"Most definitely not," he assured her. "I will be sure to send an agent out to the mountain to clear out the young from the mountain as well as a few other things." He took a moment, eyeing her curiously, "You banished him to the earth?" She nodded, "Do you remember the exact spell you cast?"

"Not exactly," she grimaced and looked away. "The words seemed to come from nowhere and I just… I wanted him gone. He sank into the ground like it had turned to quicksand. There were other sorcerers there that said even though I banished him, it would be a temporary thing. He would come back. Mister Cedric and some of the other sorcerers that were there to help defend the castle put up wards in hopes to keep him from returning to Enchancia." She swallowed hard, "Is he beneath our castle?"

"No," he said lightly, "Even without knowing the words you spoke, I sense no other dragon here. It's likely your spell took him to the center of our world. Once the spell dragged him down into the heart of the world it's likely it released him immediately. Unfortunately, for him that is, it will likely take him some time to climb free. The chances of hims surfacing again here are very slim. With the warding your sorcerers put in place he would also have to take time to break the wards. All of which are time consuming things. Magic can be undone, but it is hard to do."

She almost felt relieved, though the knowledge that he could at some point come back was maddening. "He could come back?" She had nightmares of him coming for in the night, snatching her through the window. "Will I ever be safe?"

"If you like, you can some with me to Dalaran," he offered gently. "While I may be in a guise as a mage, I do practice the arcane arts. I do hold the title of Archmage. I would be honored to take you under my wing as an apprentice."

The hand on her shoulder tightened momentarily before letting go, he didn't protest. But she knew that he would be heartbroken if she were to leave him. She looked at the dragon and smiled, "I couldn't. Though I do appreciate the offer."

He seemed to sense the unease from the man at her side. She watched as the glowing blue eyes drifted up to look at her sorcerer, he raised an eyebrow but was kind enough to not say a word. "Very well, I will make sure that I send some scrolls and books to you that you will find useful," he stood. "One of the first things I would recommend you learning is how to create a scrying pool, that way if you are in need you are able to contact me."

"I would like to learn teleportation and how to open portals," she said quickly, standing as well. "I was striving to find the spells from the books in his collection, but before I could he destroyed them." She paused, remembering the book that she held in her arms. Suddenly, as if she had received a poke from an unseen hand, she pulled it away from her chest. "I was told to take this," she offered him the large tome. "Onyxia said I should bring it with me when I made my escape."

Carefully, he took the book from her, seeing the title his brows went up. "Nefarian had this book in his collection?" he sounded amazed. "And he had it available for you?" he made a noise low in his throat as he held the book.

She nodded, "It's fair exchange, I think. If you intend to send me books and scrolls as you said you would." She swallowed thickly, but lifted her chin high, "If Vi-" she cut herself and held firm. "If Nefarian does return, if he's able to get past the wards that was put up I would like to be a less unarmed and unprepared."

The elven appearance softened, where before he looked stern and regal, now she was struck by how handsome he was. "I will see to it that you have everything that you desire in exchange for this book." He looked to the guards that surrounded him, all of which he seemed to ignore up to this point. "As you can see, I have not been threatening. I think now," he looked to her father, "Your guards are unnecessary."

Her father cleared his throat and she looked to him, he seemed unsure how to go about this. He looked at her warily and all she could do was nod. This one seemed trustworthy. "Stand down," he said after a moment. The guards relaxed, though they didn't leave the room. They no longer pointed their spears at the elf before them. "I hope you understand," he said carefully. "I have made the mistake once with my daughter when dealing with dragons. I'm not eager to repeat the mistake."

"I have no desire to take your daughter from you," he assured them. "I have young ones myself," he said to her father. "It's not often that you make a mistake with their lives, but when you do it is something that is bound to haunt you for the rest of your days. Your daughter is strong," the dragon turned to her to meet her gaze. "Despite all that she has endured she has the spirit that will allow her to bounce back from what she has faced. She will be a formidable foe for Nefarian if he able to make a stand against her again. I will help you see to that." His eyes burned with power that she felt and she knew, deep down, he would keep his word to her. It gave her hope.

"Are you going now?"

"Yes," he nodded at her. "I will need to share my findings with my Queen. As well as seeing to this book being put into a properly protected area. It gets stolen often," he sighed lightly. "Could you see me to your door?"

"Sure," she smiled and for the first time since she has returned home she felt safe. Comfortable. She offered the elf her arm, despite the huff from her sorcerer and started to lead him out of her father's study. "So, you do teach at Dalaran?"

"There are very few people that are aware of my true form, Princess," he said lightly. His expression turned suspicious and he eyed her, "Tell me. How did you know?"

"A feeling," she admitted hesitantly as she guided him back towards the front of the castle. Her sorcerer followed and she could hear him grumbling complaints lowly to himself. Her father seemed to be content to remain in his study. "I had a similar feeling with Victor, that's what he told us his name was. I couldn't figure it out, but there was something that was just not right about him," she frowned and looked away from the dragon she was speaking to. "I couldn't get anyone to believe me or understand how I felt." She cleared her throat and looked back up at him, "You gave me a similar feeling, though. When I found out that Victor was actually a dragon the feeling seemed to make sense. So, when you gave me that feeling, too, I thought I'd take a shot and see if you, too, were a dragon."

"That's a very powerful instinct you have," he complimented lightly. "Not many humans have it and it something that you should be sure to trust from now on. Others," he paused, making them both halt, and cast a glance at her sorcerer. "Others should be sure to trust and listen to it as well. That way you aren't forced to deal with another sort of ordeal again."

"You don't have to tell me this," Cedric grumped behind them. "You may need to address her fool of a father though."

An elegant eyebrow rose, but he didn't question it. He started them up again, "I must ask that you keep my secret between us." He said evenly as he looked down at her, "It's not often that dragons take roles in human affairs, but sometimes it is necessary."

"As long as I don't have to worry about any sort of foul business you might bring to our door," she said carefully. "You don't seem dangerous, but looks can be deceiving."

They reached the door and he stepped away from her, smiling lightly, "I will make keeping my secret worth your while. I am also sure that after I report to my Queen she would have likely demanded that I do this anyway," he held up a hand, it was large compared to her own. The fingers were long and well manicured, it made her think that it was likely that he might not have done a lot of hard work in this form. Though, as she said to him, looks could be deceiving. "My Queen," he spoke reverently, as if his queen was someone that he adored with his very breath, "Is a female that has a great love for life and an understanding of the importance in creating it." A small orange ball sparked to life in his palm, it pulsed like a heartbeat and shifted as if it were made of flames. It had a heat to it that made her wary and she looked from it to his face, trying not to be afraid. "Your sacrifice was a great one to make. I would like to give you back the chance to bare children and be a fierce, loving mother as is your right."

"The potion I gave her can't be undone," her sorcerer spoke harshly. "I tried to deter her from it, I tried to get her to see what a wonderful mother she could be. But-"

"This is a gift," the dragon interrupted him. "From the Lifebinder. She has the ability to create life in areas where you would think it not possible." He looked at her with his glowing blue eyes, the ball of life pulsing in his hand, "Would you accept Her gift and keep my secret safe?"

She looked down at the pulsing ball, she could feel it radiating heat and it felt as if… as if it were radiating emotion, too. She swallowed, "Will it hurt?"

"Briefly," he admitted. "It may also scorch your gown, unfortunately, I can't keep it from doing damage to your clothing. It is made of dragon's fire. Any damage it does to your gown can be easily undone."

"Dragon's fire?" her sorcerer piped up. "Are you trying to kill her?" He growled and pulled out his wand, "Don't you touch her with that!"

"Do it, I accept," she said in the same breath as Cedric made his demand.

Without another word, not heeding the threat of her sorcerer, the dragon that looked like an elf reached forward and pressed the pulsing ball against her abdomen. She felt the heat through her dress and smelled the fabric burning. Then the burning reached her skin, she grabbed the wrist of his hand, though she knew the moment the ball touched her skin it was too late to back out. The ball of fire sank into her skin and she shuddered, whimpering as it went. Fortunately, the pain didn't last though the heat lingered and seemed to envelop her. She felt the heat spread from the center of her, going down to her toes and all the way up to her scalp.

"I've ruined your dress," the elf looking dragon observed. He carefully pulled his hand away, though she kept a firm hold on his wrist. "Are you alright?"

Her skin tingled, it's like every nerve ending was set on fire. Her heart hammered in her chest and she panted as if she had been in a race. She felt alive. Finally, she released him and put her hands to her exposed midriff, touching her belly. There was no mark or burn from where the ball of fire had touched her. "That… that was it?" She looked up at him, "I'm alright, but... " she paused as she struggled to put words to how she felt. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to her sorcerer, seeing the worry on his face. "I'm alright," she repeated when she failed articulate how she felt.

"It's probably in your best interest," the dragon that stood before them started, "To take care in any sort of… coupling that you may do. You might find that you are especially fertile for the coming months. So, unless you are eager to be with child, you may want to take caution." She looked up at him and saw that he was eyeing the two of them.

"Thank you," she said distractedly. "I don't think that will be necessary. But, I thank you for the warning." At least something would be set to rights, now she just needed to get the rest of her set to rights.

"Actually, I think that would make us even," he said lightly. "I will be in touch with the books as I said I would. Again, expect a scrying spell to be the first thing I send you. I look forward to speaking with you again, Princess." He didn't wait for any sort of retort, he opened the door and stepped out into the sunshine. He turned and gave them a light bow. They watched as with a wave of his hands, he was suddenly surrounded by a brilliant blue. With an short breath, a murmur of words, he was gone.

"That was presumptuous of him," her sorcerer snipped as he eyed the hole in her gown. "Are you sure you're alright?" He carefully placed a hand against her exposed skin, as if trying to make sure she were whole.

The feeling of his fingers against her skin seemed to ignite the rest of her and she gasped, taking a step away from him. It hadn't hurt her. It just seemed like her nerve endings still burned, the feel of his cool fingers against her skin gave her a reaction she hadn't expected. "I-I'm fine," she said uneasily. She had feelings of want that she didn't expect and her sorcerer touching her had only seemed to make the matters worse. "Can you fix my dress?" He nodded and, without further questions, proceeded to fix the burnt hole in her gown.

Once her gown and corset were fixed, she put her hands to her stomach. "You think it will be easier for things to go back to normal, now?" she asked, not wanting to look at him. "Like things were before?"

He put a hand on her shoulder and started to direct her away from the front door, which he closed with a wave of his wand. "It's not likely. Things have changed, but… I will do what I can to help you find a new normal that you are comfortable with, Princess."

She smiled and allowed him to lead her away, "Thank you, Mister Cedric." She released a shaky sigh, "I think I'll be needing a lot of your help."

* * *

Anything else I add to this will in no way move plot along just extra bits that I started while working on this and didn't really have a place (mostly because it was totally told from Sofia's point of view) and then the whole Cedfia needs a good bit to it. I know in here there's a suggestion of Nefarian coming back but I honestly have no interest or desire to write a sequel. I'm selfish and lazy that way. Though for the folks demanding his head, I will be happy to go get it and take a picture for you :D  
I'll be honest, the original way I had planned to end this was turning Cedric into a dragon (another fanart picture to thank for that) and pitting dragon against dragon, but then when I got to the part where I got her out of Blackrock Mountain I literally FELT like she needed to save herself. So I changed it. Plans have a way of changing like that. Honestly I think it was the character that made the demand. Sofia wanted to save herself, yanno?


	21. Chapter 21

Nefarious Adventure

By Evil Orange Crayon

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters present in this story, whether they are owned by Disney or other folks.

Warning: This story has adult material in it, there's a little bit of a line that I danced on in this chapter. Some definite non-con related material though it doesn't go full blown kind uncomfortable moment. Figured it'd be safe to note it.

So, in the event you were unable to guess just who Victor Nefarius is, I'll educated you. Victor Nefarius is none other than Nefarian, or Blackwing, a raid boss that appeared in Blackwing Lair and Blackwing Descent in the popular mmo World of Warcraft. If you are a player of the game, don't worry. I am not at all making an Enchancia/Azeroth cross over. I'm just borrowing Searing Gore and Burning Steppes and the black dragon-flight. I promise. If you are unfamiliar with the character and my description of him wasn't very good I highly suggestion you just type Victor Nefarius into google images search and see what I meant when I said, "hm... he is smexy." You might also see other familiar names, some are characters borrowed for the moment others are because well... I just needed a name.

There are really no rhyme or reason here to these. They're things that kinda struck me as I was writing the main story and wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote them out. I saved them and hadn't intended to post them until I got a message from Jessebelle pleading for some Cedfia. I couldn't tell her no!

Just as a warning, the Cedfia is at the end. You do have to read through (or skip it) a Victor PoV. Sorry, I know you guys hated him, but I loved him. I dig dragons like that.

Extra scenes (scenes from someone else's pov and whatever just floated my boat at the time)

* * *

Cedric PoV

'I was right. I was right from the very beginning.

He's a dragon. And he's the most evil thing I have ever laid eyes on.'

He stared blankly at the page she had written on. It wasn't information he expected to find. He expected to see complaints. He had hoped to read that her husband was inapt or despite his attractiveness he was lacking in other areas. He didn't expect to read that the king had married his youngest daughter off to a bloody dragon. How could he possibly compete with that? He wasn't a bleeding knight! He was a fool when it came to combat. There was no chance that he could come riding in on some white horse to rescue her.

She was truly lost to him.

How could he hope to save her from the monster? He had to be sure, he struggled to find a quill and his inkwell then quickly wrote down a response.

'You're serious? I'm a fool for not believing you when you came in here the first time thinking him a dragon!' "I'm such a fool! A bloody ignorant fool!" he cried out aloud. 'How can this be true? How the hell are we supposed to get you out of there? I'm taking this information to your father. I will,' he paused at the thought. If he took his journal to her father he would see everything that they had discussed from the creation of the linked journals to his foolhardy admission of love to her. It's likely that it could end with his neck in a noose. He'd have to chance it, he couldn't allow her to spend another moment in the hands of that beast. 'I will contact every sorcerer I know in the tri-kingdom to figure out a way to get you out of there!'

He summoned up a scroll and began to hurriedly write down a missive, trying to think of who all could help him. "Mother!" her barked towards the portrait. "Hurry up, Mummy this important!" A wave of his wand and he shot a short bolt at the portrait so he was sure she would be aware of his call. Once he was done he made copies of the missive and a flick of his wand they were out the open window to the various royal sorcerers he could call acquaintance at the very least.

"What is it, Ceddy?" his mother sounded tired as she came from the portrait. "It's rather late, dear."

Text appearing in the journal distracted him and he looked at it before he could explain his reasoning for calling her. 'I saw him turn into it. He dwarfed the dragon we saw when we created the reservoir. He was three times its size. I'm not even sure the sheer number of dragons that are here, either. They all wear faces that are human or elf. Even if I manage to escape it will only bring trouble to Enchancia. We will have to find a way to protect the kingdom. I don't think he'll just let me go.'

"He married her to a dragon, mother," he snapped at last turning to look at his sleepy eyed mother. "The buggering King married Sofia to a dragon!"

"Oh dear," she looked pale and backed back against the portrait. "What can we do?"

"I'm taking this to the king," he picked up the journal and shook it at her. "I'm going to let the fool know just what he's done! And we are going to find a way to get her back!" He stood and picked up a wand, waving it at his journal so the text would appear to anyone that might read it. "Tell father, we have to get ready because we will be getting her back," he didn't wait for her response. He threw open the door and stalked out of his tower into the main castle.

It was quiet, the castle had been so quiet without her here. It's like every servant missed the little ray of sunshine she would bring into the castle. He knew he did. He stalked towards the throne room, not brave enough to go find the king in his private rooms. When he entered the throne room he found it empty, as he expected.

"Cedric?" the castle steward seemed to appear, like magic. "What are you doing here? It's late the king is no longer accepting petitioners. If you need something it can wait until morning."

"Oh I've waited long enough, Baileywick. Fetch the man! Tell him this is of dire importance and hurry up about it."

He looked confused for a moment then noticeably cross, "Now I'll have you know that he has retired for the night-"

"-And I'll have you know that the bugger has put Sofia in the hands of a monster!" He waved his journal at the other man as he struggled to keep his temper. "I will not wait until morning, the bastard needs to know he's done now!"

The steward's expression went from angry to concerned quickly, "Sofia's in danger? I will go get His majesty immediately. But you will adjust your tone. You won't speak to him like that."

"I will contain myself while you go fetch him." He had just enough time to try to rein in his temper then the overwhelming fear started to eat at him. His princess was placed in the hands of a dragon, oh what a fool he was! He told her to accept, he sent her to accept this monster even when she was determined something was wrong. He was barely able to contain the wail of failure that threatened to rip it's way from him. He ignored her worries and thought them trivial. And still she loved him.

Or perhaps she didn't anymore. Not after all the unspeakable things the monster might have done to her. He had to know. No. Wait. He didn't want to know. He couldn't face the knowledge of what the beast had likely done to her. How he had probably defiled her light!

He clenched his head in his hands and struggled to contain his despair now. Why wouldn't she run away with him?

"Cedric!" the king's voice boomed into the room before he did, the man was in his light dress shirt and tan trousers. He looked extremely upset to be interrupted and came into the room like he was the center of it. His wife, the queen, trailed just behind him. She had already dressed for bed and was wearing a laced house coat to cover her night dress. "What's the meaning of this? It's late and we were getting ready to retire for the night."

Unable to speak, feeling the fear that weighed on him whenever the king was in his presence he shoved his journal at the other man. He took it then looked perplexed, "I-it's a journal. It's linked. Sofia-Princess Sofia has another that it is linked to. We have been using it as a way to converse with one another," he shook his head then waved his hands. "B-but that's not what's important. Y-you married her to a monster!"

"What?" the queen snapped, stepping forward to look at the journal as her husband opened it.

Of course he would start at the first page, he watched in horror as the man read the part he was dreading him to see. "You love her?"

He quickly snatched the book back and opened it to the appropriate page, "T-there is where the conversation starts about what Prince Victor truly is." He thought it was best to ignore the accusation in her father's voice. "That is the important part you should be reading."

He watched as the king and queen read the conversations together. He watched the queen pale, her hands coming to cover her mouth, her eyes looking up at him as she digested the information. "How could this be?" the king demanded. "How would he be able to hide something like this? And keep it hidden for so long?"

"She knew something was wrong and we didn't believe her," her mother's voice quivered as she seemed to make the same connection as he did. "How could you do this?" She wheeled onto the king. "You knew she was afraid and you knew she didn't want him, but you forced her hand anyway! You made me," her voice cracked with emotion, "Pressured her into this!"

"Miranda!" the journal was closed and the king immediately changed from the indigent pompous ass that he was, to the rightfully fearful man he should be. He could see the queen burning into a mother bear before his very eyes. He hoped that she gave the bastard his just deserts, "I had no idea! Really, you can't expect me to have known! He wanted simple things and was willing to overpay for the rights to the land just inside our border!"

"It was too good to be true," she snapped at him. "Roland," she growled at him now, stepping close as her voice took a dangerous tone. "You will get my daughter back. You will do all that is in your power to do so." She turned to him now and he blanched, because as much as he had enjoyed watching her strike fear into the king it was a whole another circumstance to have that rage pointed at him. "Cedric," her voice was icy and dangerous, he found himself fearing that she would demand his testicles on a silver platter. He wouldn't hesitate to give them to her, he wasn't that much of a fool. "I want you to do all that is in your power to help him get Sofia back." She charged him as if she expected the king would fail. He wasn't sure how he would succeed in getting her back.

"Y-yes, my queen," he stuttered. "I have already contacted my mother and father. I've sent out missives to… to a few sorcerers I call friend. We will get her back."

"I'm going to write to Victor," the king started somberly and turned to leave. As if writing a dragon a letter would do anything useful.

* * *

Victor PoV (Don't lynch me!)

She was wrapped around him tightly and with each thrust into her it was as if he were coming closer and closer to paradise. It was too sweet to end it too soon so when he felt the tightening in his balls and the throb of his cock told him just how close to paradise he was he stilled. The girl beneath him whimpered and the hold on him tightened to the point that he nearly saw stars. Her hips bucked up against his and he gasped, his eyes clenching closed as he struggled to maintain his control. He wasn't ready to let go just yet. She bucked again and he groaned lowly.

With an effort, he grasped ahold of one hip and stilled her actions. She had started to grind up against him and squeeze him in a way that would soon be milking him of his essence if he allowed it. It wasn't often that she made an effort to pleasure him, not since he brought her home to the mountain. Any time she did, he knew it was in effort to finish off whatever sexual experience that they had together faster. She didn't like it when he drew it out. It should insult him to know that she didn't want him as he wanted her. It should infuriate him after all the great pains he took behave himself. But, it didn't. He had come to realize after he had her in the carriage on the way home that he had foolishly pissed away any real chance of winning the princess over. All that seduction, easing his way into her bed had been for naught when his patience wore out.

"Not yet," he hissed lowly at her. "Not yet, not yet." He wouldn't be able to win her over, pleasuring her like this. She wouldn't be impressed with his immense power or his knowledge of how to play a female body. He no longer had a chance to truly make her his in every way. But, he could still keep her. She didn't know what he truly was, as far as he could tell.

"How long do you intend to draw this out?" she whimpered beneath him.

He looked down at her, seeing her features drawn together. Her dislike of him plainly on her wounded him in a way he didn't like. He didn't love her. No, he didn't think he was capable of love. But, he wanted her. He grinned at her and began thrusting again, "I could be here all day." And he couldn't seem to get enough of her. He leaned down to rest against her, his elbows keeping his full weight off of her. "If it were feasible I would stay right here. With you wrapped around me," he purred before capturing her mouth. He kept up the rhythm, pulling her arms up and forcing them around his neck. The desire to have her hold him coming from nowhere, but he wanted it and he would have his way.

The grinding of his hips against hers and his plundering of her mouth soon had her cresting again. She clung to him, involuntarily, but it was still delicious to have her fingers digging into his shoulders as her orgasm hit. He had to stop again, sooner than he would have liked, as his cock started throbbing once more demanding release.

But, not yet. Not yet. He didn't want to give up this sweet hold she had on him. He released her mouth and shifted their positioning, pulling from her embrace and shifting her legs up so they were hooked over his shoulders. He was seethed deeper and he quaked with effort when he started to thrust again. Damn everything else. Damn everything he needed to do. All he wanted to do is keep fucking this beautiful girl for as long as his stamina would allow him.

Dragons had surprisingly good stamina.

He felt throbbing of his cock return and he started to slow, until a noise distracted him. Did the door open? Who was fool enough- "I said I wasn't to be disturbed," he would rip Obsidia and Insidion to shreds for this. Surely they could manage a day-

"Oh but dear Nefarian," he ground his teeth together at the sound of her voice. "It's been months since you have paid your dear sister a proper visit," Onyxia entered his bedchamber as if she were truly the ruler of his mountain. He growled with a seething rage he felt building in his chest. It boiled like lava. "Brother, I heard you were married! And I was so sad to find out that you didn't deem it necessary to invite your favorite sister," he glowered over his shoulder at her, seeing her demure expression only to have it ruined by a cackle. "I thought I would pay you a visit before I go inform mother and father of your grand affair!"

He snarled, he could feel the hold on his human guise wavering, but he couldn't help it. She knew what would happen if their father found him in the arms of a human. He could see it in her eyes and the mocking way she looked at him. "Onyxia," he ground out. "This is not an opportune time," he tried to gain control of himself, not wanting to snap and hurt the girl that he was still seethed within or expose his true nature to her. Not yet, not yet.

Of course, this was what she intended when she traipsed into his rooms. He was sure she could likely smell the scent of their coupling from the hallway. "Oh, I see that you are busy entertaining yourself with your wife," he smelled the girl's terror and he knew his sister did as well. "And while manners would have me come back at another time," his sister went on as if she weren't aware of the girl's fright. "I am sure you would steal away my new sister in law to prevent me from being properly introduced."

He would, he looked down at the girl that was wrapped around him and he found that he would have to. She was likely here to kill the girl. If not she would go to father with the news of his infatuation with a human girl and he would take great pleasure in tormenting her to death. He couldn't have that. She was his! He growled at his sister again and tugged himself free of Sofia's firm grasp on him. He regretted it almost immediately, his testicles hurt and he throbbed painfully. Oh, he should have given in to that release before his sister sauntered in. The girl folded and struggled to cover herself, trying to preserve some shred of modesty, as he stood to face his sister. He snatched up her arm and held onto it hard, trying to keep himself human. "I will not allow you come in here issuing threats to her or me," he growled at her.

"Oh," she smiled at him knowingly, "I didn't come here to end the girl, brother. How petty do you think I am?" Though she smiled he could see her and feel her begin to challenge him, she would expose them both in this little room. It was likely it wouldn't accommodate her true form, but still he saw her threaten him with it. "I just wanted to see what it was that had you acting so careless. And low and behold I hear that you have wed yourself to a human. You," she laughed lowly at him. "How surprised I am. Though," she looked to the girl still on the bed. "She is a pretty one, so I suppose I see how you managed such a thing."

He gave her a sharp jerk, "Enough!" He pulled her away from the bed and tried to put distance between his sister and his princess, "This is not something I wish to discuss here." He couldn't let the girl know. She hated him, with just cause really, but he couldn't imagine her reaction if she found out. He couldn't give up the sweetness of her. Not yet.

"Oh?" She must have sensed his sudden desperation. "What kind of web have you wove now?" He allowed his claws to grow and dig into the tender flesh of her arm, breaking the skin, "You have secrets, do you?" There was a twitch of her features as he began to hurt her, "If you don't wish for me to expose them, dear brother, I would suggest you let me go. I would very much hate to turn this into a fight, wouldn't you?" She challenged him again, the fool did. She couldn't dream of besting him, but that wasn't the point. She challenged him because it she would transform here and now to tear into him.

He released her, unable to keep the defeat from being apparent. He couldn't risk Sofia being hurt. He wasn't done with her yet. He left his sister, his claws slipping back beneath skin, and went to sit heavily on the bed. He felt his princess's eyes boring into him, he couldn't look at her. For once, he found himself fearing what he would see. Accusation? He had seen enough of it. Hate? It shouldn't bother him to see that, but he felt it would. Perhaps she would finally realize what he was. "Behave yourself," he grumbled, trying to not seem petulant, "I owe you nothing you have gotten every egg back from me so there is no need to be aggressive." She had also ruined several experiments and nearly killed his alchemist, again. He wasn't sure he could bring back a human soul from the land of the damned more than once, wasn't eager to try it.

He watched her preen for a moment, before going to see to his princess. "Dear brother, that hardly makes up for it. Though, I will say," she shot him a look, "that I took out a good amount of my rage on your alchemist. I left him alive, or if you call what you did to him life," her disgust for Maloriak was apparent and she shrugged moving to sit close to the girl. "What a darling thing you are," her voice had lowered to a less mocking tone. "Tell me girl, what is your name?"

The girl stuttered out her name, "S-sofia."

"What a lovely name," he couldn't tell if she meant the compliment or not. One thing his sister had on him was her ability to play humans. He watched as she cupped her chin, the hairs on the back of his neck rising. If she were going to snap the girl's neck there was nothing he could do to stop her. He watched and felt fear. The girl didn't even know how much danger she was in. "Such blue eyes," she hummed and he wondered if she could see what had him so enamored. "Don't be so frightful, darling. With all his huff and puff, I did not come here to do you harm. Curiosity is all that I came here to sate." He didn't believe her.

"W-who are you?"

His sister chuckled and released her, he relaxed as he continued to carefully watch their interaction. "I am Nefarian's sister," he growled. The girl didn't know his true name. His sister cackled in response, "Katrana Prestor, sweetling. You may call me Katrana." The girl's face slackened at his sister's human name, he watched her and there was something about it. Onyxia saw it, too, "Have you heard of me?"

Her eyes connected with his and he couldn't place where the girl would have heard her name before, "O-only what Victor has told me." It was a lie. It was evident with the way she trembled.

"What are you playing at now?" his sister turned to him with a narrow look.

"We will not discuss it here," he frowned at her, though he couldn't tear his eyes from Sofia. Because she knew something. "Not that it is of any concern of yours. It will not affect you or any of the mischief you have created."

"I would hardly call toying in the political humdrum of a large kingdom mischief," his sister sniffed lightly before she turned back to his princess. "If anything politics is boring. Human kingdoms seem to be caught up too much on the small things that they lose view of the bigger picture. Consider yourself fortunate that you don't have to worry yourself with it."

"You're going to kill me?" the girl simpered out.

"No," he snapped without thinking and hissed at his sister, wanting nothing more than to drag her out of there and figure out some way to soothe the girl's fears. "That is enough," he bit out the words.

"Oh dear," she turned back to him and surprise was evident on her features, it looked real. "Did you see that?" she spoke to the girl as they both looked at him. "I think he meant it, too. Nefarian, what have you gotten yourself into?" He felt pinned. Did she see it? Was his sister able to see the mess he created for himself?

He stood, growling out, "enough! If you wish to discuss it, it will not be done here. Out!" He pitched enough power into his voice to have it rumbled through the room and he jabbed a finger at the door, causing it to open. "And I will see to telling you the details of my… my project. However, you will not cause her anymore distress or do anymore harm to it." He had to think fast. Surely she would buy the idea of halflings, wouldn't she? It wasn't a far fetched idea. Sure it didn't seem entirely likely, but if anyone were able to create them between a dragon and human it would be him. There had to be some use for them, too. Though he hadn't really thought that far ahead.

She seemed to see his struggle and didn't keep the laughter down, "Very well." she turned to give the girl another look, smiling as if she weren't a vicious killer, "You and I shall speak again, little Sofia. Don't you fret." A cold stone seemed to settle into his stomach, it was a veiled threat. She stood and started to walk past him, skimming just close enough to touch him. "You may want to make sure she has no means of escape or doing herself harm. I would hate for anything to happen to the lovely girl," the stone got heavier and he looked at the girl. Would she do herself harm? Sure, she likely hated him, but it was enough to make her want to kill herself? He found himself more afraid of that prospect that anything his sister may do to the human. He wasn't done with her, yet. He wasn't ready to give her up or allow her to part this world. "Don't keep me waiting, brother. I will be outside," his sister's words trailed out like her claws on stone.

He had to swallow his fears and look at the girl still curled up on the bed. She looked tiny and fragile and he thought the fear his sister instilled into him may be just. She looked as if she were capable of anything. "You will stay here," he said firmly, trying to keep his voice commanding. "I will be back shortly and I will allow your questions then. Do not," he hissed at her, trying not to sound desperate but the thought of finding her dead to her own hand left him feeling just that, "Do not do anything rash. I will explain when I get back." he started for the door, not caring about his nudity and barked out for the two he had set to guard her. "Obsidia, Insidion," the pair appeared out of nowhere, as if they could sense his stress now. "You will stay here and keep an eye on her. I will see to my sister," he couldn't keep from growling out his distaste at the idea of leaving her.

They affirmed that they had heard his command and he left them, stalking out to the balcony. The hot air that he walked out into did nothing to soothe his sensitized skin or his burning loins. His sister stood at the railing, appearing to be admiring the view. When she heard his approach she turned then immediately looked displeased, "Could you at least dress yourself?"

He threw out his arms and basked in her discomfort at seeing his human skin nude, "You interrupted me fucking my wife, sister. If the vision of me naked and excited disturbs you then you may want to reconsider how you approach me from now on."

She shuddered, but turned and waved it away. "What are you doing with a wife, brother?" her voice sounded disinterested, but he could hear her contempt. "You. Married," she snorted. "Such a human thing to do. Are you human now? Has being around the lesser races made you weak?"

He approached her, out here he could easily dispense of her if he needed to. There was no worry of his princess becoming harmed or exposed. "And here I thought you enjoyed humanity. Don't turn your nose up at what I have done, I'm well aware that you have laid your fair share of human men," he looked ahead out at the sprawling mountains. "I've done nothing wrong."

"How are the chromatic drakes coming, dear brother?" he bristled and tried to resist the urge to strike his sister. "How are your other projects, hm?" He turned to glower down at her. "You mentioned you had a plan for the girl, perhaps you should enlighten me. Of what use is this girl to you? Other than distracting you from business at hand?"

"Halflings," he said evenly, still concocting his the plan as they spoke.

"What about them?" she didn't sound amused and her skepticism was apparent on her human features. "Human and dragon halflings? Have you completely lost yourself in the arms of the girl?"

"Not completely, not yet anyway," he waved it away as if they weren't discussing his obsession. "But think on it. They're not any. What kind of power could they hold? Perhaps there's power there we don't know about," he rocked back on the balls of his feet as he considered it. "Think on the halflings we know about. The half orc that managed to win over a human king then bring the entire kingdom to its knees. Surely you're aware of that history considering that's the kingdom you are toying with." He paused to scratch at his beard, "There's something about the human makeup that seems to make them resilient. Yes, my chromatic dragons are something of a failure, but if I could find a way to mix in that resiliency from humans into them-"

"You can keep talking, brother, but I don't see sense in it all," she complained. "How does this girl come into play?"

"Obviously," he snorted at her. His sister never really enjoyed the science of playing with life. Creating new things from other things, what have you. It was disappointing. "I impregnate her, she has a halfling. We magic it into a proper vessel and I use it as a means to strengthen my other creations. It's simple really." It sounded simple enough, if she would buy it. He eyed her as she considered his words.

"I think you're using it as an excuse to fuck her. Honestly, I don't know why you bothered with the human ceremony. When have you been honorable? You could have just took her when you had to opportunity," she sniffed haughtily, as if she had any place to judge his choice in bedmates. She didn't realize he intended to keep the girl. He had his reasons and he didn't see her fit for him to defend them. "I'll give you a week, which is being generous since she isn't in heat," she sighed lightly. "Seven days, brother."

"That's hardly adequate time for anything, even if I fuck her daily," he complained then considering the options he had he found himself wondering why he was even humoring her. With a defeated sigh, "If it must come to this." In a flash of fire he expanded and took his dragon for, hoping to catch his younger sibling off guard.

He didn't have much luck, unfortunately, as soon as she realized what he was about she met him with claws out and wings spread as if she were ready to spring into the air. "Fight me if you will, but if you try to kill me who will be around to cover up your dirty work, brother? Do I really need to go to father about your nefarious deeds with the girl?"

"You will not," he bellowed and pounced. They struggled and she forced them to roll off the balcony, falling into the little valley below it. He was stronger though and managed to pin her. "You will leave my human be," he growled before taking her throat between his jaws, his tail whipping about as his victory drew near. "Do you yield or should I end you here, dear sister?"

"I yield!" she scrapped her claws against his side, looking for purchase that he wasn't going to give. "Get off of me!" She wiggled under him and he released her throat, peering down at her as he continued to hold her in a submissive position.

"You will not go to father about this," he warned lowly. "Next time I won't let go and I'm sure you can imagine what would happen after that."

"If you are foolish enough to do something like then you are foolish enough to expose your whole scheme to the humans!" she snarled at him. She never really did like being forced to submit. "Get off!"

* * *

Yay! Cedfia!

It had been nearly two months since she had returned to the castle. Several weeks after the dragon had come to call. In those weeks the beast had sent her several books and scrolls that he was charged with assisting her in learning the spells. The first was a scrying spell, something done easily enough. She took an ornate bowl and filled with water then enchanted the water to allow communication to a designated person. It was similar to the journals they had created together, though the dish would allow the girl to speak to the dragon versus simply writing to it. It was ingenious, but flawed as he saw it. What would happen if the dish of water were to tip over? There was something more … intimate about the journals that he enjoyed. That was, of course, until he changed his so others could read it. He would have to undo that spell if they were going to continue to use the journals. Though, it had been some time since she wrote in hers. He would still keep a watchful eye on his journal. Just in case.

Right at the present, Sofia was seated on her stool peering intently at a book from the Archmage dragon. He sneered as he worked on completing his duties, making various potions for the betterment of the kingdom. Making potions to ensure that the princess slept soundly without a nightmare's interruption. Calming potions, though he didn't entirely make an effort to ensure they worked. He knew the king wanted them in an attempt to foster some good will with his wife. As far as he was concerned the king deserved every bit of animosity the queen wanted to throw at him. He'd be damned if he was going to make the effort to help the bastard.

She had lingered in his tower, pouring over books with their official Dalaran seal and their emblem of the Kirion dragon had been ready to sweep her away and take her to the magic city. Or so he told her. He was ready to take his apprentice. He felt the bitterness settle in his stomach, the dragon would probably be a better teacher than he was. He would probably be smart enough to keep from allowing the girl to be wed to another dragon, a foul beast that would defile her.

"You look cross," she observed from beside him. Her words nearly startled him out of his skin. Since her return to Enchancia she had taken to being quiet, where as before she didn't shy away from starting conversations. Now she seemed more reserved. It pained him to be in the same room with her and not a word be said. But, he couldn't bring himself to pressure her for conversations. He feared what they might talk about. He wasn't sure he could bare to hear the foul things that had been done to her.

"Just thinking," he grumbled lightly as he stirred his cauldron. "How are your lessons going?"

"They're not really lessons," she argued lightly. "It's more so just reading." She sighed and sat up straighter, stretching so that her back made a sound pop. She looked tired and he found himself wondering she she had been sleeping or not. There was dark circles under her eyes and even after being home for months they were still there.

"Well reading is important. What are you reading?" Curious, he waved his wand at the wooden spoon so that it stirred on its own. He peered at the book she was reading, getting close enough so that he could read what was on the page. Close enough to get a hint of her scent.

He should have known what he would see when he looked over the page. Teleportation. The girl was more stubborn than a brick wall. He sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I did tell you how dangerous this was, it's best you pay attention and read the instructions closely. I don't care how impressive the dragon made it look. He was a dragon, there's no telling how old he really is and how much practice he's had," he couldn't keep himself from griping. There was something emasculating about seeing someone else, different creature or no, easily perform spells that he had struggled with. Things he was afraid she would try and injure herself with.

She sighed and when he looked at her he spotted a smile tugging at her lips, "That is why I'm reading first. It's giving strict instructions and even going into gruesome detail about what could happen if I fudged it up."

He gave a slight nod and went back to glaring at the cauldron, even though it was apparent that she was very apt at spell casting he still couldn't let go of the need to give instruction. Perhaps he would never let go of the need to guide her. He wasn't sure he wanted to, if he didn't try to teach her or guide her through the new spells she was learning he was terrified of the consequences. Not that she would turn out to be a better sorceress than he, but that he would lose her. He still wasn't sure what kept her from going off to Dalaran with the dragon. The line of thoughts made his mood darken considerably quickly, something that had begun to happen often ever since she was wed to the dreaded beast. Was it something he would ever get over? None of the truly horrifying things happened to him. His heart tightened in his chest and he resisted the urge to look at her. She wouldn't appreciate his pity.

He continued to work in silence, working on making more of the sleep potions that she seemed to depend on. He wanted to ward her off of them, they could become horribly addicting, but he didn't have the nerve to. He wasn't sure he could with having an idea of what might haunt her dreams. She stood and walked out, he assumed to relieve herself. She seemed to only part from him long enough to sleep and tend to her physical needs. She would always come back into his workshop, sit down on her stool and lose herself in whatever new book the dragon had sent her.

At least she cared for him on some level to stay close to him. He wasn't sure if her affections were the same and he would be damned if he pressed her to know. He would be content with her company.

He heard her return to the main room of his workshop and only spared her a glance as he went about carefully measuring the belladonna. Just as he sprinkled the herb in he felt her little arms incircle his waist. She hugged him and he stilled, it was as if the world stopped and all there was just the feel of her around him. He dropped his wand and the clattered on the table then rolled off and hit the floor. Breathing became necessary and he inhaled deeply, still feeling her arms wrapped around his middle. He didn't resist the urge, didn't think about it, he turned in her arms and enveloped her in his own.

He held onto her tightly, fearing that the moment he might let her go that it would prove to be a fevered dream and she wasn't really there. He buried his face into her hair and inhaled deeply, basking in the silky feel against his cheek. "I never thought I would miss your bloody hugs," he admitted hoarsely.

"I'm sorry," she murmured lightly, her cheek resting against his chest and she didn't seem ready to release him. He wouldn't begrudge her, not when he was still clinging to her.

"Bugger off with those apologies," he ground out. "I'm not fool enough to imagine things would go back to the way they were before… before that monster got his hands on you," he leaned heavily against her, unable to keep up the hard front as he was faced with the knowledge of what the beast had done to his princess. He didn't know the details, but after the conversation with the red dragon posing as an archmage, he knew well enough. "You survived," he murmured against her hair. "You survived." It was said as an afterthought, something he was so grateful for. Her surviving.

"I did," she agreed, her voice sounding slightly strained. He wasn't sure if it were his own emotional failings that set her off or if it were just the bold step she took in hugging him. She released a shaky breath and pulled away just enough so she could look up at him, "I almost forgot how comforting it was to hug you. Before I would just hug you in hopes… in hopes you'd hug me back," a smile tugged at her lips. "Now, I didn't think I could handle a man being so close to me. But," her cheeks flushed prettily and he swallowed, not wanting to imagine the implications of her words.

"You are far more important than me getting a bleeding hug," he told her solemnly, though he had missed the press of her lush little body and the temptation she had always seemed to dangle in front of him before the foray into the nightmare she had lived.

"I liked hugging you," she smiled at him. "Especially when you would act all upset when I did it or wouldn't, but you would hug me back. Especially after Victor first arrived." She shrugged uneasily at the mention of her captor. "I have a favor to ask," she looked away, biting her lip as she did.

"What is it?" he prompted, brows drawn down together and his hands moving to rest on her shoulders. They seemed safe there. "No need to be bashful, Princess. You never were before when you asked me for favors."

She swallowed hard, still not meeting his gaze. It was concerning. "Help me," she started softly. "Help me forget him."

He blinked rapidly for a second, raising an eyebrow and drawing his head down closer to hers to make sure he had heard her right. "What?"

"I feel his hands everywhere," she said looked determined now as they spoke. "He took me when I didn't want him to, but despite everything I tried," her voice started to crack with emotion. "He still managed to get my body to betray me. Help me forget him. Help me by showing how sex is supposed to be when it's with someone I love."

"I-I-I," he stuttered, suddenly surprised and jerking away from her. "It would be the death of me," he said while swiping his hands through his hair. "Your father would run me through!" He looked at her, seeing her blue eyes glassy and fearful. Though it was probably from rejection than anything. It took her so much to ask for this, he was sure. He caved, not just because he had wanted her since she hit puberty. "Are you sure this is something you want? That this won't just make matters worse?"

"I've loved you for so long," her voice sounded small as she spoke, drawing closer to him. "I've wished you would notice my feelings and take me since I was fifteen."

"I don't need to hear that!" he shouted suddenly. Then he waved his hands, "T-th-this is a horrible idea, Princess. The consequences are terrible," he sighed then. Turning to his bubbling cauldron. He flicked his wand at it and the fire extinguished. "I am at your command," he looked back at her. "If you think it will help you through the ordeal then I will do all that I can to help you heal."

"I don't want you just to help me heal," she snapped suddenly, shocking him with her sudden tone. "I want you, because I love you. If you don't want me," her voice suddenly sounded strangled. "If you don't love me anymore-'

He didn't let her finish, he couldn't. He cut her off by capturing her mouth with his own and tugging her into a tight embrace. He kissed her carefully, though he had used it as means to interrupt the tirade she started he couldn't be forceful with her. Not after all she had been through. He tilted her head back slightly and her lips parted and invited him in. He garnered a taste of her then had only been in his memories since the last time they had been together, before she taken away.

It was enough to get him to forget any concerns he had before, he was seduced by the sweetness of her mouth and the smell of lilacs that seemed to cling to her. His hands tangled into her silky hair, knocking her crown to the floor. He pulled her close, feeling the length of her lush little body against his. It gave him an inebriated feeling, he had longed for her so long and how here she was. She asked him to take her. It was foolish for him to give in, but how could he not?

He pulled his mouth from hers and the little minx went to follow, "Not here. Not here." He drew in a breath, trying to get his muddled thoughts together. "They know my feelings for you. I wouldn't doubt that they would come to check in on at the most inopportune time."

"They know?" she blinked at him owlishly, her blue eyes dazed. He saw his want reflected back at him. She had been sharing the similar feelings. It made his heart ache, how long had she longed for him?

He nodded, "When you told me he was a dragon, I took my journal to your father immediately. Of course the first thing he saw was me being a bumbling idiot and admitting my feelings to you on paper." He tipped her chin towards him, resisting the urge to kiss her again, if he kissed her again he would forget the reason why he had pulled away from her mouth in the first place. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"I've always wanted this," her voice was hushed like they were sharing a secret.

"Let's go somewhere more private," he said gently, he guided her to the door that separated his private rooms from his work room. "Give me a moment," he raised his wand and flicked it towards the door, the scrape of metal signifying that the door was latched now. Then he was leading her down to his bedchambers. He felt like he was dreaming. "You are asking me to do something to you that was forced upon you before," he said carefully. "I can't help but ask again, are you sure?"

"I didn't love him," she said sternly, her eyes narrowing. "He made me feel things I didn't want to feel. I want you to do that for me, make feel good. Show me how it's supposed to be when it's coming from someone I love and want."

Any apprehension he had clinging to him before diminished, she started undressing herself, much to his surprise. She wasn't going to give him much of a chance to argue or change his mind. Not that there was any blood left in his brain to think of any sort of protest. This was going to happen. He shook his head and pulled off his robe, hanging it across the writing table that took put a corner of his room. He untied the bow at his throat and watched as she seemed to zone out as she went to work on removing her dress.

He took off his gloves, then opened his vest and began working loose the buttons of his shirt. She didn't seem to notice. As soon as she had the laces loose, she pushed the sleeves of the gown off her shoulders and then off her hips, exposing her shift. She hadn't been wearing a corset, so when she pushed it off her shoulders he didn't get the opportunity to stop her. Before too long she was stripped down, save for her stockings.

She was perfection if he ever gotten to see it. Her skin was creamy and not a blemish was on her skin. But then, her captor didn't strive to harm her physically. All the damage he did wasn't something you could see. She stood with her head held high and her eyes challenging him. Like she was daring him to ask her again. He swallowed any compliments he might have considered giving her, she didn't want to hear them.

"I'm not worthy," he said instead, shrugging off his shirt and vest. "I don't match your beauty in the slightest."

"You're handsome," she kept him from saying more. "But, it's not your looks that attract me to you."

"I am undeserving of this gift," he said evenly. She shook her head in response and came to him, wrapping her arms around his middle. She felt delicious against him in nothing. His arms came around and he stroked his fingers down the length of her bare back, getting dizzy at the feel of her breasts against his chest. He thought himself undeserving, but oh how he wanted her.

She finished the act of unbutton his shirt, pulling it out of his trousers and opening it so that the only article of clothing that separated them was his pants.

She leaned up to kiss him, it was delicate and everything she was to him. Sweet and gentle, intoxicating like any rich wine. He could stand there kissing her without any care for consequences. Her hands wandered beneath his shirt and skimmed along his skin, he shuddered. Her touch seemed to set him on fire. He wasn't even aware of when his shirt hit the floor. He was so engrossed in her that he didn't notice his state of undress until she had his belt open and the laces of his trousers undone.

He directed her to his meager bed, pushing forward until they both lay across it. He pulled up and waited a beat, looking into those luminous blue eyes to see if there would be any objection. She touched him instead, her hands mapping out his thin chest and curling through the little bit of hair that sprinkled across it. It was clue enough that there was truth behind her words. He wasn't sure he had the skill of a crazed dragon, especially not after her words. But, he was determined to try.

He leaned down to kiss her again, her arms curling his neck and keeping him close. There was a certain type of pleasure about having her so close.

But, she had charged him with the duty of making her forget. He trailed down from her mouth, at first she tried to follow seeming too caught up in the taste of him. It was promising. He followed the line of her jaw, feeling lethal little fingers curling into his hair as he trailed open mouthed kisses along her skin. He made his way to a breast, catching the peak and swirling his tongue around it. She arched and keened as he did, seeming lost in the feelings he was providing. A tug of the hand in his hair directed him to the other breast and he worshipped as he did the first.

He couldn't linger for too long, though he could get distracted by the sheer taste of her. He drifted down her torso, feeling her breath quicken as he shifted off the bed and between her thighs. There was no telltale signs of abuse on the intimate area like he expected. She was beautiful.

He spread her outer lips and brushed his tongue along the length of her opening. She gasped out, fingers still in his hair and urging him on. He watched the reaction on her face as he feasted upon her, finding the bundle of nerves and sucking it into his mouth. She threw her head back with a low moan and he was encouraged to do more. Slipping a finger into her, he worked her until her hips bucked and she was crying out. Maybe he did have a chance of erasing the memory of the fiend.

He released her clit and crawled back onto the bed beside her, he kept thrusting his fingers into her. He was amazed by the play of emotions on her face. "Is this what you wanted?" he asked her hoarsely.

"I want you," she breathed as her hips rocked against his hand. "I want you in me," she gasped and her eyes clenched closed as she started to shudder.

She was quaking and clinging to his wrist. He managed to pull his hand away and settled back against her, arching one of her thighs onto his hip. "I hope I don't live to regret this," he uttered to himself. "I hope doing this isn't going to make you hate me," he kept on in prayer. "I hope this helps," he said at last before he took aim and thrust into her.

"No," she wrapped both her legs about his hips, meeting his thrusts. "You won't die," she gasped out. "I won't let anything happen to you," he managed a steady rhythm, as she struggled through her words. "I'll protect you and you'll protect me."

"Bugger all," he gritted out, trying to hold on longer but he was being swayed by her words. "I need you," he gasped out as he leaned back against her. "I need you to be my light," he buried his face against her neck. "I love you," he kept going, like the words were forcing their way out of him and he had no control over it. "I don't deserve you, but I want you so much."

"I love you," she gasped out the words into his ear. They were like the finest music. He shuddered and pressed his fingers between their pelvises to rub at her clit and try to force her over the edge. He wasn't as young as he used to be, he couldn't hold on much longer.

But, it was all too much. His hips stuttered to and he shuddered as the last bit of his control was lost to her squeezing muscles. "Blast it all," he winced, though he felt her shivering against him. He wasn't sure if she managed a completion with him. "You'll have to drink a tea," he grumbled. "The Archmage said you may be fertile after he reversed that potion. If I get you pregnant than I know your father would run me through."

"I would marry you," she murmured, her fingers brushing through his hair now as she seemed to not be bothered by the idea of carrying his child. "After all that's happened he wouldn't be able to protest."

He snorted and looked at her, seeing a glow to her features that he hadn't seen before. "Are you alright?"

She hummed, her eyes closing. "I'm tired. Do you mind if I sleep here?"

"Do as you will, Princess," he pulled out of her carefully, wincing. "I will guard you throughout the night." He shifted them further up onto his bed and coiled the blankets around them, as if they were snug in a nest.

"I'll be your light as long as you let me," she said in response.

"Then you'll always be my light," he kissed her brow and relaxed against her side.


End file.
